Colliers Names Richard Raymundo to Head Philippine Operation

Global property brokerage Colliers International is turning to new leadership in a key Southeast Asia market, by appointing Richard Raymundo as managing director for the Philippines, effective January 1.

Raymundo succeeds David Young, who has headed the company’s business in the country since 2006 and will remain at Colliers as Chief Operating Officer for the Philippines.

“Our growth in the Philippines requires that we add further management capacity to our already strong team,” commented David Hand, CEO Asia Pacific for Colliers in a statement. “We are fortunate to have had a stable senior leadership in the Philippines over the past decade, and are delighted to appoint Richard as Managing Director to enhance our team. With his deep knowledge of our clients, their needs and our people, his appointment is a slam-dunk in ensuring continuity.”

Colliers Veteran Takes the Reins in Manila

Raymundo, 43, has worked for Colliers in the Philippines and Hong Kong since he first joined the company in Manila as a Research Assistant in 1996. The University of the Philippines graduate rose up the ranks to serve as Director of Research and Consultancy from 2005 to 2008, before taking the role of Asia Director for Valuation and Advisory, based in Hong Kong from 2008 to 2016.

Raymundo relocated back to the Philippines in October of last year to bolster the company’s senior leadership team in the position of Deputy Managing Director. The Colliers veteran is a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, as well as a licensed real estate broker in the Philippines.

Office Demand Strong in Philippine Capital

Colliers set up its local office in the Philippines in 1994, and currently has a staff of over 700 in Manila and Cebu. The Toronto-based firm has over 15,000 professionals working in 68 countries.

The Philippine economy is firing on all cylinders, with annual GDP growth expected to top six percent in 2017 and 2018. Rapid economic expansion is helping to drive robust office demand in Manila, where some 550,000 square metres of space is expected to be taken up by a mix of domestic firms and MNCs this year, according to Colliers’ most recent quarterly market report.

New office supply is projected to reach 850,000 square metres in 2017, a historical high for the city, and Colliers expects that average annual completions may top that figure between 2018 and 2020.