Is Depressed Oil About to Spoil Manila’s Mood?

Manila used to be the city the Asian economic boom forgot—overlooked in favor of more dynamic spots in China and Thailand. But with the Philippine capital now a favored destination for call centers and other outsourced services, it isn’t such an outlier. As multinationals such as JPMorgan Chase and American Express expand there, more than 1.4 million square meters of office space will be added over the next two years, says Julius Guevara, an analyst at Colliers International.

The economy is on pace to grow around 6 percent in 2016 and 2017, the Asian Development Bank says, compared with less than 5 percent for Southeast Asia as a whole. While a slump in China has hurt other Asian countries, “the Philippines is ticking to a very different rhythm,” says Joseph Incalcaterra, an economist with HSBC.