Online real-estate marketplace launched; PHL first adopter
Recently, an online company called “Lamudi” was launched by ROCKET Internet dedicated solely to real estate in the Philippines.
Lamudi Philippines founder and Managing Director Jacqueline van den Ende said in a news conference in Taguig City that “The Philippines is a super interesting country for us.”
As investors have dropped the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and turned to emerging markets like the Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ethiopia (PINE), Van den Ende alleged they opted into doing business in the Philippines.
As seen in its 7.2-percent growth in gross domestic product last year, she added the Philippines are the fastest-growing economy in this new promising bloc, which includes Indonesia, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
With the money remitted by overseas Filipino workers going to real estate and construction, it opens a big opportunity for us to launch Lamudi she further added.
“Real estate is expected to accelerate in 2014. And all these investments and growth of the economy are driven by not only the increasing wealth of the Filipinos themselves, but also by investment of the OFWs, particularly in real estate, either for retirement purposes or just as an investment.”
Last year Internet usage and mobile-phone penetration stood at 42 percent in the Philippines which are undergoing good growth, and this was the reason why we entered Philippines, added Van den Ende.
She quoted that there is a considerable surge in the use of mobile phones, of the devices available especially smart phones, over desktop computers and laptops for Internet access.
So in the next two to three years, we see an enormous evolution from offline to online brokering in the Philippines. The first country to launch Lamudi is Philippines, following its inception in mid-2013, according to van den Ende.
Paul Philipp Hermann, Lamudi co-founder said they have partnerships with property developers Mega world, SMDC, Robinsons Land, Crown Asia, Vista Residence and AboitizLand.
In the next three weeks they are opening an office in Davao in addition to their offices in Manila and Cebu, added Van den Ende.
Source: Business Mirror
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