The British Chamber of Commerce Philippines hosted the 8th Property Matters: Transforming Philippine Cities on 29 August 2024 at Dusit Thani Manila. As sponsored by Arthaland and Santos Knight Frank. The event showcased the trends and opportunities in the real estate sector and its intersection on tourism & hospitality, infrastructure, and sustainability in the emerging cities in the country.

BCCP Chairman William Bailey noted in his opening remarks the uptake on the commercial offices and residential condominiums while also acknowledging the present challenges on inflation, currency, and geopolitics.

The event featured keynote presentations and panel discussions from industry leaders including Arthaland Corporation Associate Director for Commercial and Office Leasing and Sales Ivan Talita, Bases Conversion and Development Authority Vice President for Investment Promotions and Marketing Department Erwin Kenneth Peralta, Colliers Philippines Director – Office Services Landlord Representation Maricris Sarino-Joson and Research Analyst Brent Respicio, Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines Vice President Robert John Horrigan, Palafox Architecture Group, Inc. President Architect Felino A. Palafox, Jr., Santos Knight Frank Senior Director–Occupier Strategy and Solutions Morgan Mcgilvray, and Society for Sustainable Tourism & Development Inc. President & CEO Susan Santos De Cardenas.

Sustainability emerged as one of the key themes of the event discussion. Talita highlighted Arthaland’s sustainability efforts such as energy & water efficiency, low-emitting and non-toxic building materials, and solar energy system. “The goal is to offer sustainability or expand sustainable connections to the upscale market and affordable market,” Talita said, to move away from the common notion that sustainability is expensive.

The panel discussion noted the investment opportunities outside of Metro Manila, particularly in renewables, tourism, business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, and other multinational firms. De Cardenas noted that, “Climate is our most pressing challenge here in the Philippines so developers have to really look into the climate resilience of each and every development.”

The British Chamber remains committed to further boosting the investment opportunities in the country across various sectors while promoting sustainable practices to benchmark with its key partners such as the UK to contribute to the overall UK-Philippines trade relations.

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