Philippines: Cebu

Overview

Cebu City is located in the Visayas region of the Philippines. It is the second most populous city in the country. It has an area of 315 square kilometers and is known as the queen city of South. The city is the center of trade, commerce and education in the Visayas region.

Facts and figures

Population 980,070
Total office stock in sq m / sq f 1,170,000 sq m (2019)
Total retail stock in sq m / sq f 1,010,000 sq m (2017)
Total industrial stock in sq m / sq f n/a

Economy

Cebu City is a major center for business outsourcing, such as call centers which makes the city have a close relationship with the global technology industry. Over the years, Cebu City has grown into one of the country’s most significant provincial economies and an attractive destination for foreign direct investment.

Growth

Central Visayas, where Cebu City is located grew by 7.6% in 2018, the fourth largest contributor to the country’s National Gross Domestic Product with Php 593.86 billion. Central Visayas is still one of the country’s fastest growing regional economies.

Unique aspects

Cebu isn’t only known for its beautiful islands. The Philippines’ main domestic shipping port and is home to about 80% of the country’s domestic shipping companies is Cebu City. The city houses one of Asia’s biggest festivals known as the Sinulog Festival, which is celebrated over the span of nine days that attracts millions of tourists each year. Cebu City is also famously known for lechon, a roasted pig dish that is sold literally everywhere in the city.

Office overview in Cebu

Cebu City, Philippines - office space for rent, lease or sale

Cebu City hosts the majority of office space supply in Metro Cebu mainly because of Cebu IT Park and Cebu Business Park. According to JLL Philippines, in the third quarter of 2020 Cebu’s shares of the total office space inquiries climbed to 28.6% from previously at 4%. Those interested in Cebu City office space market are mainly firms that engaged in offshoring and outsourcing at 95.2% while the remaining 4.2% are from traditional office occupiers.

Cebu City offers many options on office buildings for lease, including the following

Retail overview in Cebu

Cebu City, Philippines - retail space for rent, lease or sale

Cebu City’s retail market is strongly led by the home-grown leaders like Gaisano Groups and the strong presence of national players. Cebu remains a key retail destination outside Manila as it is the second largest outsourcing hub in the country and is among the major sources of overseas Filipino workers.

Cebu City offers many options on retail buildings for lease, including the following

Industrial overview in Cebu

Cebu City, Philippines - industrial space for rent, lease or sale

The industrial market of Cebu City is very healthy. The industrial zones in the city were filled up more than four years ago, which makes the city well ahead of their counterparts in Luzon. The city has several mixed use economic zones and dynamic business districts that cater to various industries such as business process outsourcing, IT, software development, telecommunications, and engineering research.

As for shipping, 80% of the shipbuilding companies in the Philippines is located in Cebu. The city is also a major manufacturer of ice rinks that can be found all over the world. Aside from that Mactan-Cebu international airport, the second busiest airport in the Philippines, is located in Lapu Lapu city, a part of Cebu City, and serves the Central Visayas region.