MANILA – The rising retail trade has been boosting demand in industrial space in the country, Santos Knight Frank Associate Director for Investment and Capital Markets Kash Salvador said.
In a briefing Tuesday, Salvador said retail trade continued to drive the industry while being supported by growth in manufacturing and real estate.
He noted that locators were aggressively looking for vacant industrial spaces for their expansion.
However, available supply of space in economic zones and industrial parks has remained limited.
Most of the economic zones and industrial parks in the country are located in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon, or Calabarzon area.
But Salvador noted that despite the limited available space for the industrial market, lease rates for lot and standard factor buildings (SFB) remained competitive.
In Calabarzon, monthly lease rates for lot only range from PHP75 to PHP135 per square meter while SFB rates from PHP180 to PHP260 per square meter.
In Clark Freeport Zone, monthly rent for lot ranges from PHP30 to PHP110 per square meter a month while SFB rates from PHP130 to PHP220 per square meter a month.
Rates in Subic Bay Freeport also play in almost the same range from PHP25 to PHP115 per square meter a month for lot and from PHP120 to PHP260 per square meter for monthly rate of SFB.
Salvador noted that future demands of locators include more efficient space and closer to distribution channels with the expected rise in fuel prices.
