Real estate consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis said the Philippine property sector can look forward to petro dollars seeking new investment sites to help offset weak interest from the United States.

CBRE chairman Rick Santos said that recession in the US will help petro and other funds to look for alternative sites to invest in.

The business process outsourcing industry meanwhile, will continue to drive the growth of the office space sector.

Low inflation and loan rates will also cushion the impact of a weaker residential sector.

Santos said skyrocketing oil price is encouraging petro funds to invest in emerging markets like Southeast Asia. citing that at in 2006 alone, over $36 billion has been invested in the Asian rmarket , with the Philippines benefiting from the trickle effect.

Santos said a number of "huge funds" is currently looking into the Philippines for investment opportunities, though he admitted that the Philippines remains not a top priority.

"Attention is increasingly turning towards investment markets in Southeast Asia, including Philippines, Vietnam, India, China’s 2nd tier cities and Taiwan," said Santos.

CBRE vice-chairman Joey Radovan said that the "projected growth short fall" in the voice-based call center segment "will be compensated" by the non-voice back-office off shoring and outsourcing segment, driven by companies’ need to maintain efficiency.

CBRE research head Victor Asuncion noted that the outbound segment of the call center would be the most likely affected by the US slowdown.

Radovan said the influx of new BPO businesses in the Philippines will lead to the expansion of these companies outside of Metro Manila.

A total of 520,000 square metes of new office space are scheduled for completion this year in Metro Manila which are already 100 percent committed through pre-leasing leaving no buffer for immediate need for office space for new entrants.

CBRE is forecasting a 1.4 million sq.m. of office space demand for this year.

The supply-demand lag has pushed rental rates in central business district to soar which is seen to prompt companies to "move out" of grade A high rise buildings to new IT buildings in new business districts.

Radovan noted BPO companies’ shift to "campus-style setting" which offers an efficient management of resources compared to high-rise, like low-cost maintenance.

The supply lag is also prompting companies to shift attention to provinces. Cebu will remain the convenient alternative to Metro Manila as haven, and will remain the business hub of Visayas and Mindanao, according to Radovan though new development areas are expected to spring like Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Davao City, and others.