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Manila, June 30, 2005
— The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, today agreed to provide Eastwood Cyber One Corporation, with a ten-year, $12.5 million loan for a project to expand its office space in Eastwood City. Eastwood Cyber One Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Megaworld Corporation, one the nation’s largest property developers. Today’s financing follows an IFC loan to Eastwood of $20 million in 2002 for its first expansion of office space in Eastwood City. IFC is providing longer term financing than would be available locally to a project promoting information technology infrastructure attractive to foreign investors and providing training and skilled employment to local workers.
Eastwood City has become a leading provider of office space to the business process outsourcing, or BPO, industry, an important driver of economic growth in the Philippines. The loan will partially fund the construction of an information technology-ready property with 70,000 square meters available for lease. It will supply space demanded by multinational and domestic BPO firms. In 2002, Eastwood City CyberPark was Megaworld’s first venture catering to the business processing outsourcing sector. Today, the CyberPark has become a hub for call centers and business process outsourcing centers of multinational technology companies including IBM, Citibank, Sitel, Epixtar, and eTelecare. Total space for such workers have increased from 2,000 five years ago to about 40,000 in 2005. The spaces are estimated to double this year.
“Megaworld, through Eastwood, is a leader in the development of information technology infrastructure in the Philippines. This project, in a strategically important sector, will attract more investors and create good jobs”, said IFC Country Manager, Vipul Bhagat.
Andrew Tan, President of Megaworld Corporation said, “We are pleased over this latest show of support from IFC for an important office project at the Eastwood City CyberPark. It will help bolster the country’s status as a leading business process outsourcing hub in the region.”
The mission of IFC (
www.ifc.org
) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY04, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3, 143 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
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