Telco investment a guide to Filipino property opportunities

The Philippines is an interesting market. The country is experiencing strong urban population growth, though economic activity is subdued as elsewhere. Low household debt levels and gthe prospect of greater regulation of property zoning presents a far greater opportunity for capital growth than elsewhere. It remains to be seen how the credit crisis impacts on the Philippines government reform agenda, however the Philippines will benefit from a continuing shift towards BPO call centres. Of course it will need to overcome cultural challenges to increase its market penetration. Eventually Filipinos will be engaging in sales (‘cold calling’) as well as performing customer support. It’s just an issue of cultural familiarity and training. I would suggest that the greatest prospect for property appreciation is in the regional cities which are likely to experience greater income growth as call centres shift to regional areas to profit from lower wages and greater worker retention (due to less competition and worker migration). Rural workers are more loyal, though such locations are currently disadvantaged by poor telecommunications infrastructure. The best way to establish where to buy is to determine where the new tfibre optic lines are being built, and where call centres will be able to get quality P1 line connections.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com