By James A. Loyola Megaworld Corporation, the Philippines’ largest office developer and landlord, has bagged a landmark deal to host the first Philippine location of US-based WEWORK’s collaborative workspaces. In a press briefing, Megaworld Senior Vice President Jericho Go said the new WEWORK co-working space is located in Uptown Tower Three in Uptown Bonifacio, Taguig City. Covering two levels with a total gross floor area of 4,081 square meters, WEWORK formally opened its operations in Uptown Bonifacio in February, following its launch of new locations in Vietnam and Malaysia late last year. WEWORK Uptown Bonifacio will have facilities such as games and karaoke room, indoor garden area, which is inspired by the Philippine Islands, and wall murals by Filipino artist Bitto. “This is yet another major milestone for Megaworld and for the Philippine real estate industry. We are very privileged to welcome WEWORK in Uptown Bonifacio, its first-ever location in the country,” said Go. He noted that, “we are now able to collaborate with a multinational operator of flexible spaces, and this allows both Megaworld and WEWORK to engage in cross referrals.” Go explained that, “while WEWORK provides flexible short to medium term use of variably sized work spaces, Megaworld does bigger and more permanent ones. But what is similar to both companies is that we both believe in the ideals of creating communities with the spaces that we develop.” Grounded by its core mission of creating opportunities for community and collaboration through optimizing space with good design, WEWORK has since expanded its footprint worldwide with 425 physical locations in 100 cities in 27 countries. In Southeast Asia, WEWORK is present in 18 locations in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, and now, the Philippines. “With the Philippines now a rising economy in Southeast Asia, there is no better time to be here than now,” said WEWORK Southeast Asia Managing Director Turochas Fuad. Fuad added that, “WEWORK is not just about the space, but also the value that we create by providing an inclusive member-driven experience that fosters an environment of creativity and collaboration across a vibrant global community of individuals.” “As our footprint continues to grow in Manila, we are looking at innovative ways to partner with landlords, in this case, Megaworld, which will allow them to share in the upside that we generate. By harnessing the power of WEWORK’S global network and community, we are committed to helping Philippine-based enterprises, freelancers, startups, and MSMEs scale further,” adds Fuad.