A web developer's blog. PHP, MySQL, CakePHP, Zend Framework, Wordpress, Code Igniter, Django, Python, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, Knockout.js, and other web development topics.

IT in Cebu + Real Estate

An article from Sunstar Cebu… Seems that the future of IT here in this little island in the middle of the Philippines isn’t so dark after all. Now, if the gas prices would go down a bit, salaries increase, politicians stop stealing our hard-earned money ug mabali ang langit ug ang yuta — then people (like us) would not want to go abroad in search of greener *cough* — dollar-green pastures…

DESPITE the country’s unstable political climate last year, Ayala-controlled Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. (CPVDC) managed to grow its net income by 7.5 percent to P33 million from P30.7 million in 2004.

This positive growth, which the company has attributed to the income generated from lot sales and lease from firms located at the Asiatown Information Technolgy Park (AITP), is one of the manifestations that Cebu is nearing its goal of becoming a hub for information technology (IT) and IT-related services, CPVDC chief operating officer Francis Monera said.

Hotspot

“Cebu, with its urban conveniences, yet relatively tranquil environment, is fast becoming a hotspot for IT and IT-enabled businesses,” he said during the company’s 2006 stockholders’ meeting at the City Sports Club Cebu last Friday.

To emphasize the world-class quality of Cebuano IT professionals, Monera cited one of AITP’s locators, NCR Cebu Development Corp., which produces software for point-of-sales-machine.

Software

“(When you) travel to the US, Australia and Europe, and you get to transact with the so-called fastlane self checkout terminal—a self-service machine used in supermarkets in these countries—the operating system of that machine can very well be the work of a young software designer at the NCR of our Asiatown,” he said.

AITP, the first IT park in Southern Philippines, is a project of CPVDC, a subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc.-affiliate Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI).

“AITP is host to companies which represent a good mix of software research and development, business process outsourcing companies and contact centers, bringing in millions of pesos in investments and employing thousands of people,” Monera said.

These companies include Globe Telecom, NEC Software Philippines, Tsuneishi group of companies, NCR Cebu Development Center, Epson Precision Philippines Inc., PeopleSupport Philippines Inc., eTelecare Global Solutions, Dash Engineering, SPI Technologies and Versagraphix Design Philippines Inc.

More space

To meet the increasing demand for office spaces, two more buildings were constructed last year at AITP. These were results of the company’s investor-matching program, wherein CPVDC facilitates talks between a possible investor and a lot owner at AITP.

More office space will soon be available, as Primary Industrial Property Corp. (PIPC) and Skyrise Realty and Development Corp. (SRDC) are in the process of constructing their own buildings.

SRDC, which bought three lots in 2004, is completing the construction of an eight-level building with about 15,500 square meters available for rent.

PIPC, the contractor of the Engineering and Sciences Building, has also started constructing its second building that will have a total area for lease of 16,000 square meters.

PIPC bought two more lots with a total area of 2,854 square meters last year. Last year, the company opened a retail strip, which included a variety of restaurants, a coffee shop, a convenient store, IT shops, a spa and a dental center.

Full article here.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>