Although the economy will remain volatile over the short term, Regus, the world’s largest provider of workplace solutions, is “very optimistic about the business outlook in the Philippines.” The company is investing on a national network which will service half a hundred centers in the next half decade.

In general, “We believe there will be significant, continuing growth. This growth will be driven by the fact you have very good-quality people here with good levels of education, and a good work ethic. You also have a vibrant start-up culture. Based on this optimism, we have ambitious plans for our own business here,” according to Regus PLC CEO Mark Dixon.

Regus also sees a growing trend for mobile and home working, which is important to create flexibility in a volatile economy. “In our experience, moving to a flexible workplace strategy can reduce real-estate costs by up to 60%,” he pointed out.

“On any given day, 50% of office space sits empty – with employees on the road, working in a different office or at home, or on leave. Companies increasingly realize the futility of paying for this empty space,” the CEO explained.

A recent study we did of 11,000 business contacts all over the world – the Regus BusinessTracker Study – showed that 59% of people believe a substantial proportion of large companies aim to reduce their reliance on office property over the next three years. Instead, they will switch to virtual working. The figure for smaller companies was even higher.”

As a result of this growing trend, more and more people will be working at home, from virtual offices and from business lounges in the place where they happen to be. “Wherever there’s an Internet connection, they’ll work there. Rising energy costs and people’s exasperation with travelling long distances to work will also fuel the trend for mobile and home working. They want access to workspaces closer to home,” Dixon elaborated.

“At the same time, mobile and home workers need access to high-quality business facilities – facilities that are significantly more advanced than their own laptop, for example. They might need to do top-quality, bulk printing or photocopying. They might need video-conferencing facilities; or they might need somewhere impressive to meet clients or make a presentation. We launched products like Businessworld and virtual offices because we anticipated those needs.”

With Businessworld, customers receive a smart card that gives them walk-in access to business lounges and Internet cafes at Regus centres all over the world. Both Businessworld and virtual offices allow people to use Regus’ offices at very low cost and with great flexibility and both proved popular, according to the CEO.

Regus, the world’s largest provider of workplace solutions, operates over 1,000 business centers across 450 cities in 75 countries. Todate, more than half of the Fortune 500, along with thousands of small- and medium-sized companies, are outsourcing some part of their office requirements to Regus. Its offices, business support services, meeting, conference and training facilities and public videoconference rooms serve over 200,000 clients daily.

Despite the global recession, Regus was able to launch more new products than it launched in the entire decade before the economy went on a tailspin, Dixon stressed. “In the current climate, you have to innovate.”

In the Philippines, “The main potential problem, as I see it, is getting the infrastructure right – phone and IT networks, for example. Obviously, the infrastructure is developing and there is increasing access to IT, wireless technology, but there is still work to be done,” he acknowledged.

However, Regus has continually invested in the Philippines and in the Asia Pacific region even throughout the recession, Dixon revealed. “Over the next three years, we’ll increase our investment. In the Philippines, for example, we plan to create a national network, reaching around 50 centers over a five-year period.”

Recent Regus investment in the region includes opening a new office in Indonesia and expanding its operations in Singapore. “We are about to open a centre in Cambodia as well. Overall, though, the biggest growth in the region will come from Japan and China.”

Last year, Asia Pacific – including the Philippines – accounted for roughly 18% of Regus’ global investment and roughly 12% of global revenue. “The region performed well for us in 2009.”

In 2008, Regus PLC netted £114.9 million earnings on £1.077 billion revenues and employed 5,442 people. The company is listed in the London Stock Exchange and is headquartered in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

This year, Regus expects good growth overall, with new centers and new customers across the region. “There’s great growth potential here, and that will be good for our business,” Dixon concluded.