While it cannot be denied that the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted many companies’ abilities to operate, the arrival of several viable vaccines has allowed some normalcy to return to our lives. In line with this, many companies who are looking to resume their operations in the Philippines have decided to move their headquarters to industrial parks and other locations that give them some level of autonomy.
While this is an important benefit of locating within an industrial park, there are a number of others that are also important even outside the context of a pandemic-induced quarantine. If you are part of a company’s leadership and are considering a move to one of the country’s industrial parks, here are some of the most important reasons you should do so today.
Centrally Managed Infrastructure
More often than not, a company’s primary concern is its own bottom line. Activities that either does not contribute directly to the bottom line or draw revenue away from that bottom line are typically kept to a minimum. Unfortunately, many of these activities, such as fitting out a space with adequate power, water, and connectivity options, or laying pathways and roads to make a space accessible, are also quite necessary to the viability of the company’s operations.
Deciding to locate in an industrial park does away with all of these concerns, effectively outsourcing the company’s infrastructure requirements to an experienced estate management company so that it can focus on its core competencies and revenue drivers. Establishing a headquarters in an industrial park is especially attractive for mid-sized companies and small organizations who may not have the capital necessary to build their own campus or suite of facilities but would still like to have a certain level of independence of operations.
Mutually Beneficial Businesses and Establishments
It has become an observed phenomenon that businesses that are related to and support one another often crop up around industrial parks. For example, if a food processing plant decides to locate within an industrial park, it would not be surprising to see plastic fabrication plants, large-scale printers, or bottling facilities open up near the park or even within the park itself. Affiliated and related businesses reestablishing their operations near their largest revenue contributors is just good business sense.
Even the laborers and employees of a company that establishes its operations in an industrial park are likely to benefit from this. Industrial parks are frequently magnets for service businesses, dining, and entertainment establishments, especially those that play host to businesses with on-premises housing.
Special Economic Zoning
While this benefit may not apply to every industrial park, for the companies who do benefit from it, its value cannot be understated. Some industrial parks in the Philippines enjoy certain exemptions from trade operation laws that are implemented elsewhere in the country where such privileges don’t apply. Usually, these exemptions take the form of immunity to certain taxes, and in the case of seaside industrial parks, more favorable rates for docking and wharfage. While most of the time, these inducements are designed to incentivize foreign firms to establish operations in the Philippines, many of these can apply to local firms as well.
Improved International Investor Perception
In some cases, the biggest benefit to being able to claim residence in an industrial park is being able to tell others that your company’s residence is within the said park. Listing an industrial park as the location of one’s headquarters is said to be valuable to companies looking to attract foreign investment, giving firms a certain stature and legitimacy that foreign investors are likely looking for. Deciding to locate in an industrial park also sends a message that a company is willing to reinvest in itself and its own operations, and this could be one factor that investors consider beyond the standard profits and losses.
Finding the right industrial park for a company could be a challenging task, but luckily, there are so many to choose from in the Philippines, and their number continues to grow seemingly on a daily basis. Deciding to establish a headquarters in one could be a firm’s next big step and an important decision in the journey towards lasting corporate success.
