BPO revenues and employment up
in 2007

18 January 2008 – Despite the threat of the strengthening peso, the country’s business process outsourcing sector still achieved its target of a 40% growth in revenues in 2007. Mitch Locsin, the executive director of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, reports that the sector, led by call centers, posted US$4.8–5 billion in revenues in 2007, compared to the US$3.4 billion posted in 2006. The sector also generated 320,000 full-time jobs in 2007 versus 237,000 jobs the previous year.

BPAP chief executive officer Oscar Sañez admits, however, that the rising peso, which closed at P41 a dollar in 2007, slowed down profits by 15%. BPO companies resorted to hedge funds to peg the dollar rate at P38 to P40.

Looking ahead, the local BPO industry looks to attract more investments and grab a bigger share of the global industry pie. India controls 35% of the market, while the Philippines cornered just 6%.

BPO industry upbeat despite negative effect of rising peso

6 November 2007 – According to the Business Processing Association of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of call centers and other IT-enabled service providers in the country, the strengthening peso has had a negative effect on the industry's revenue margins. However, it remains positive that the country will be able to corner 10% of the world's US$130 billion offshoring and outsourcing market by 2010.

In an industry report entitled “Offshoring and Outsourcing in the Philippines: Roadmap 2010” released yesterday, the BPAP cited the challenge of the rising local currency. The appreciating peso, which recently hit a seven-year high of P43 against the U.S. dollar, means reduced earnings for the dollar-pegged sector. But with the demand for Filipino services currently surpassing the supply of services, BPAP chairman Fred Ayala says the industry can tolerate the rising peso, as long as a high level of cost efficiency is maintained.

Next to India, the Philippines is the cheapest offshoring and outsourcing destination worldwide.

NBN deal scrapped

3 October 2007 – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday told Chinese President Hu Jintao that she has decided “not to continue” the controversial national broadband network deal with the Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE Corporation. In Shanghai for a visit, President Arroyo relayed the message during a meeting with President Hu. The US$329 million NBN project aimed to create a digital backbone that would electronically connect government offices all over the country. Although tainted by bribery, corruption, and overpricing issues, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said shelving the NBN deal was a “difficult” decision for the president. She reassured the Chinese leader that the Philippines remains committed to a one-China policy and that the country remains an ally. After the Supreme Court issued on 11 September a temporary restraining order on the implementation of the NBN deal, the President Arroyo also ordered the suspension of the project on 22 September. Meanwhile, the Senate investigation on the NBN deal is expected to continue regardless of the decision to scrap the deal.

Cebu City cited as favored outsourcing location

1 October 2007 – Cebu City came in fourth in the list of most-favored emerging business process outsourcing destinations worldwide in an industry study published by global services and investment firm Tholons. Three Indian cities—Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune—topped the list.

Completing the list of the top 15 favored BPO destinations are Kolkata, Ho Chi Minh, Colombo, Shanghai, Chandigarh (India), Beijing, Cairo, Hanoi, Shenzhen, Buenos Aires, and Sao Paulo.

The rankings were based on a city’s competitiveness in the scale and quality of its workforce, financial infrastructure, risk environment, and quality of life. The study did not include such major destinations as Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Dublin, and Metro Manila.

SC issues TRO on government broadband deal

11 September 2007 – The Supreme Court en banc has voted 8-7 in favor of the issuance of a temporary restraining order on the government’s controversial national broadband network deal with the Chinese firm ZTE Corporation. The TRO is in response to the separate petitions filed by Iloilo vice governor Rolex Suplico and Amsterdam Holdings Inc., a Filipino firm that also vied for the project, to halt the implementation of the US$329 million deal tarnished with bribery and overpricing.

The eight justices who voted in favor of the TRO were Chief Justice Reynato Puno and Associate Justices Adolf Azcuna, Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, Antonio Carpio, Conchita Carpio-Morales, Leonardo Quisumbing, Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, and Consuelo Ynares-Santiago.

Those who voted against the TRO were Minita Chico-Nazario, Renato Corona, Cancio Garcia, Antonio Nachura, Ruben Reyes, Dante Tinga, and Presbitero Velasco.

The high tribunal gave the respondents 15 days to file their comments on the petition. The respondents were the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Transportation and Communications, Commission on Information and Communications Technology, ZTE Corporation, Arescom Inc., National Telecommunications Commission, the Bids and Awards Committee for Information and Communications Technology Committee, and the technical working group of the ICT.

The national broadband project aims to build a government-owned information and communications backbone that will electronically connect all government offices.

DOTC, ZTE execs face graft raps over NBN contract

29 August 2007 – Nueva Vizcaya congressman Carlos Padilla has filed graft charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against Secretary Leandro Mendoza of the Department of Transportation and Communications, two other DOTC officials, executives of China’s ZTE Corp., and two John Does.

According to Padilla, the DOTC officials—Mendoza and assistant secretaries Lorenzo Formoso III and Elmer Soneja—and ZTE executives—chairman Hou Weigui, vice president Yu Yong, Manila office chief representative George Zhu Ying, and executive director Fan Yan—must be punished for the alleged anomalous awarding of the National Broadband Network project to ZTE. The complaint accused the respondents of having violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Telecommunications Policy Act, Build-Operate-Transfer Act, and Government Procurement Act.

The NBN project calls for the building of a government-owned information and communications backbone that will electronically connect all government offices through an intranet. Funding for the project will come from a US$300-million loan from the Export-Import Bank of China.

RP ranking as top BPO outsource
site slides

23 August 2007 – The Philippines has slipped in its ranking as one of the preferred business process outsourcing destinations worldwide. In a recent survey of BPO firms, the country’s ranking dropped to No. 8 from No. 3 in 2006. Board of Investments managing head Elmer Hernandez cites political instability and the lack of necessary infrastructure as the reasons behind the drop.

In 2006, the Philippines came in just behind China and India. This year, aside from India, China, Brazil, and Chile, three Southeast Asian countries—Malaysia Thailand, and Indonesia—also ranked higher than the Philippines.

Despite the drop, according to Hernandez, the Philippines’ pool of English-speaking workers and strong affiliation with American culture should help keep the country competitive as a BPO destination. However, Vietnam is also gearing up to vie for the top choice of BPO investors in the future.

Broadband deals not
needed—UP study

6 August 2007 – Two professors from the University of the Philippines School of Economics have come out with a study that concludes that the Philippine government should not pursue its plan to build and own two IT backbones. In their study, Professors Raul Fabella and Emmanuel de Dios argue that the government does not need to own a broadband network, more so two networks.

On 21 April, the Philippine government had signed a deal with the Chinese state-owned company ZTE Corporation for the setting up of a US$329-million National Broadband Network, as well as another agreement with the Chinese high-tech company Tsinghua Tongfang Nuctech Co. (Nuctech) for the creation of a US$465.5-million satellite broadcasting facility that would serve as the backbone of the government’s Cyber Education Program. The projects are to be financed by loans from the China Eximbank.

The UP professors say that the country does not need to reinvent the wheel because there are already two existing backbones being operated efficiently by private firms. They also pointed out that the government has no “core competence” in owning and maintaining an IT infrastructure.

DOJ orders broadband deal investigation

11 July 2007 – Upon the prodding of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales has ordered an investigation into the US$330-million national broadband contract entered into by the government with ZTE Corp., a Chinese state-owned technology firm.

Based on the “reconstituted” contract, Gonzales said that the government appears obligated to honor the contract, under which the country is supposed to get a US$330 million loan from China Eximbank to fund the setting up of the national broadband network. The contract was reconstituted after the original contract was allegedly stolen from the hotel room of a Philippine envoy shortly after its signing on 21 April in Boao, Hainan.

However, Gonzales admits that the deal was largely overpriced. The companies that also submitted proposals for the project, Amsterdam Holdings and Arescom Corp., claim that the deal with ZTE was inflated by at least US$100 million.

BPO won’t stimulate economy—ADB

12 April 2007 – Business process outsourcing, hailed by the government as a major sunrise industry, won’t spur significant growth in the economy, according to an industry analysis of the Asian Development Bank.

The study, entitled “An Analysis of the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing Industry,” points out that although huge investments have been poured into the local BPO sector, the industry does not necessarily stimulate production in other sectors.

According to the study, the local industry has to address low hiring rates, high attrition rates, the high cost of electricity, and weak governance. There have been proposals to focus on knowledge-based process outsourcing, but no specific strategies have been laid out by the government.

The estimate that one million BPO-related jobs will be generated by 2010 is too ambitious states the ADB report. “The BPO total workforce size will reach 500,000 to 600,000 in 2010,” concludes the study.

Infra projects to support BPO industry

15 February 2007 - The government has committed to support the local business process outsourcing industry by investing in infrastructure development, providing training programs for “near hires,” and deregulating the telecommunications industry.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spoke of the government’s plans today at the 7th Global Sourcing Conference at the Edsa Shangri-la Hotel. She stressed the driving role of the BPO industry in the government’s “social payback” plan, as BPO firms continue to create job opportunities for Filipinos and pour in more revenues into the economy. It is expected that the industry will generate US$12 billion in annual revenues by 2010.

Earlier, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. announced that the government is set to allocate at least P2.1 billion for the E-Government Fund and the implementation of the “cyberservices” corridor project under its Super Regions program.

RP call centers to earn US$7.3B
by 2010

21 June 2006 – By 2010, the annual foreign-exchange earnings from Philippine call centers are estimated to reach US$7.3 billion, almost triple the US$2.6 billion projected earnings this year. According to Rainerio Borja, director of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines, the huge earnings will largely come from the more efficient use of workstations during daytime.

Meanwhile, employment in the call center industry by 2010 is seen to swell by 182% to 506,500 agents from the 179,000 jobs projected for this year. Call center employees are estimated to contribute US$162 million worth of income taxes to the government’s coffers in 2006.

CURE to tap existing infra of 3G rivals

23 May 2006 – Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise Inc. is working on reaching “collocation” agreements with the three other local license holders for 3G mobile telephony services, namely Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, and Sun Cellular. CURE is looking to ride on the existing infrastructure, particularly the cellular sites, of the three telcos. 3G mobile technology, which is an upgrade of the basic call and text messaging services, requires a network of cell sites before it can provide value-added services like faster data download and transfer, video calls, and so on.

“Collocation is our idea to avoid duplicating the existing infrastructure,” said CURE President Eric Recto. Building a cell site costs around P5 million to P7 million and requires the operator to complete at least 26 local and national permits before it can put up a site.

By mid-2008 or 30 months after the approval of the 3G licenses, the 4 telcos have to already be offering 3G services to customers. So far, only Globe and Smart have succeeded in rolling out their 3G services.

RP should ride outsourcing
boom - NEDA

11 April 2006 – In a statement, National Economic and Development Authority director general Romulo Neri was very upbeat about the business process outsourcing industry’s prospects and encouraged investors to take advantage of the country’s educated and English-proficient workforce.

According to data from the Board of Investments, Business Process Association of the Philippines, and Commission on Information, Communication and Technology, around P12 billion is expected to be invested in call centers and other outsourcing services in 2006, which is estimated to translate to US$3.8 billion in revenues and an additional 102,520 jobs this year. Aside from investments, revenues, and employment, the BPO sector is also spurring the growth of other sectors, such as the office property sector and 24-hour food and retail establishments.

Neri says that the Philippines should aim to capture 10% of the medical transcription market and improve on its current 1% share. He cited the report of global consultancy firm McKinsey that the U.S. still lacks about 80,000 medical transcriptionists.

RP falls 3 notches in global IT rankings

29 March 2006 – The Philippines placed 70th of 115 countries in the Global Information Technology Report 2005 released yesterday by the World Economic Forum. The WEF ranks countries in terms of their information technology infrastructure and policies. The country came in 67th in 2004 and 69th in 2003.

In the said report, the U.S. overtook Singapore and came in first due to its “impressive performance” in terms of technical infrastructure and business environment. Although Singapore dropped to second place, the country is still very competitive with its regulatory environment and “world-class” education and training.

NTC awards 3G frequencies to
four telecoms

4 January 2006 – The National Telecommunications Commission has granted Smart Communications Inc., Globe Telecom Inc., Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (Sun Cellular), and new player Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprises Inc. (CURE) licenses to operate third-generation (3G) mobile networks in the country. Smart and Globe issued separate statements on 28
December 2006 announcing the granting of the licenses.

According to NTC, each 3G channel granted to the telecom firms can serve at least 25 million subscribers, for a total of 225 million subscribers for the four operators. Smart got frequency channels 1, 2, and 3; Digitel got channels 4 and 5; Globe got channels 6 and 7; while CURE got channels 8 and 9.

3G technology promises increased bandwidth for mobile phone users, making enhanced multimedia applications accessible to users at much faster speeds.

Cable TV rates to rise 50%

23 August 2004 -- Philippine Cable Television Association chairman Manuel Dabao says cable TV rates are expected to go up by as much as 50% in the near future as operating costs of local cable operators continue to rise.

The PCTA head said that aside from the rising cost of programming (what cable firms have to pay providers like AXN, HBO and Star Network), operators need to contend with the added pressure of paying 30-35% in import duty for capital equipment.

Dabao explained that from 1998 to 2003, cable operators obtained tax credits every time the government used cable air time for advertising. Cable TV firms used the tax credits to offset their tax and tariff duties until the Bureau of Customs disallowed it starting the second half of 2003.

The National Telecommunications Commission said it had already endorsed the cable industry as part of the broadcast media to entitle them to tax credits provided by PD 1362.
NTC Chair Ronald Solis said it was up to the finance department to decide on the issue.

Mobile phone penetration seen to hit 50% in 2005

13 August 2004 -- Nokia Philippines, Inc. says growth potential in the wireless market remains strong and projections of a 45%-50% cellular penetration by 2005 is feasible.

"There is already a 32% penetration as of the first half. I agree that there is a phenomenal potential in the market to go to that level," said Nokia Philippines Country General Manager Parikshit Bhasin.

Bhasin said Nokia Philippines is also not threatened by projection that the mobile phone market will eventually be saturated. He said that even if the volume of new subscribers drop, old users will still support Nokia because people will need to buy new phones or upgrade their handsets.
Nokia Philippines announced that it will launch eight new phones in the second half. The new phones are expected to boost Nokia's revenues and help it maintain the firm's dominance in the market.

The world mobile communications leader also projects the number of mobile phone users globally to increase to two billion by 2007 from the current 1.5 billion users, with world penetration rate at 23%.

In the Philippines, the wireless market has grown to 26.9 million users as of June 2004. Of this, Smart Communications account for around 16.1 million and Globe Telecom 10.5 million. Domestic mobile penetration rate is placed at 32% as of middle of this year.

While Bhasin refused to disclose Nokia’s share of the Philippine market, some sectors estimate it to be at around 75 to 80%.

Bhasin nevertheless said that global sales for the full 2004 could surpass the 600-million unit mark. For the second quarter of 2004 alone, the global mobile market continued to grow and reached 148 million units, of which Nokia accounted for 45 million units or 31% of global market share for new units sold.

Nokia is still the number one brand for mobile phones in Latin America and China, while its market share has started stabilizing in many western European markets.

ASEAN IT Ministers establish ICT fund

10 August 2004 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) telecommunications and information technology ministers approved the creation of an Asean ICT Fund to finance region-wide IT projects. The agreement was reached during the Fourth Asean Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand held on 4-5 August 2004.

The IT leaders stated that the ICT Fund will have a cumulative value of US$5 million with equal contributions coming from all Asean countries, which they can pay on an installment basis. Asean member-countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Asean Dialogue Partners - China, India, Japan, and Korea - will also contribute cash to augment the fund.

The ICT Fund will be used to accelerate the implementation of the Asean ICT Work Programme which inlcludes projects that fall under key areas of cooperation like the Asean Information Infrastructure, promotion of e-Society and Capacity Building, e-Commerce and ICT Trade Facilitation. Other collaborative projects include Development and Adoption of Radio Frequency Identification, Asean.Net for Persons with Disability and other e-learning initiatives.

The Philippines was represented by Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) chairperson Virgilio L. Peña

"The fund, which will test the arability of Asean nations in terms of ICT projects, will be the seed money for the development of ICT infrastructure in each country. As a signatory to the agreement, the Philippines will have to pay the Asean more or less US$100,000 for a five-year period. The amount will have to come from the budget of the commission," Peña said.

"We believe that the returns to the country will be greater because only then can we ride on a region-wide IT development of this proportion," he added,

Aside from the approval of the creation of the Asean ICT Fund, the IT ministers also agreed on the creation of a National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) in their respective countries. These individual Asean CERTs will coordinate with each other through the Asia-Pacific CERT (APAC CERT) using a Standard Operating Procedure for information sharing during cyber attacks.

The APAC CERT will also include the membership of the national CERTs of Australia, Japan and Korea.

VAT hike better for telcos

5 August 2004 – Telecommunication firms favor the two-step increase in value-added taxes (VAT) over other proposed tax measures being pushed by the government to plug its worsening fiscal deficit.

In separate statements, both Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan and Globe Telecom, Inc. (Globe) President and CEO Gerardo C. Ablaza, Jr. said that a VAT increase would be a better option than other measures like the planned tax on text messages or the franchise tax.

While Pangilinan said that PLDT accepts an increase in VAT (which is currently at 10%) because it is more efficient, he also said that any proposal must not be too burdensome on the telecom sector – which he said is already contributing substantially to the government’s revenue generation efforts.

Globe’s Ablaza also said that the VAT proposal is better because it will be applied to all industries and would be simpler to implement. The proposal is one of the eight proposed measures endorsed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Congress to help raise P80 billion for the government.

PLDT nets P12B in 1st half

4 August 2004 – Leading telecommunications firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) posted a consolidated net income of P12 billion at end-June which is 573% higher than its reported P1.8 billion net income during the same period last year.

The telco’s consolidated revenue in the first half grew by 20% to P55.6 billion, while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) went up by 35% to P34.7 billion. Its EBITDA margin also improved by 69% up from 57% on a year on year basis.

PLDT’s huge earnings was driven mainly by Smart Communication’s net income which hit P11.6 billion – almost double its P6.1 billion earnings for the first half of 2003. The wireless subsidiary had a total of 12.5 million subscribers at the end of the second quarter, with Pilipino Telephone Corporation (Piltel) accounting for the balance to boost the over-all 16 million subscriber base of the whole PLDT group. Both subsidiaries had a total of two million new customers for Q2, strengthening PLDT’s nearly 60% market share of the wireless industry.

At the rate the country’s telecommunications sector is growing, projections of an over-all wireless penetration rate of 33-36% at year-end is clearly attainable.

Globe posts P6.9B net income in the first semester

3 August 2004 – Globe Telecom reported a net income of P6.9 billion in the first six months on the back of combined top-line growth and increased operating efficiency. Subscriber growth boosted service revenues in the first six months to P26.2 billion, up 15.0% from the same period in 2003. Globe’s operating costs and expenses grew 7.0% to P10.3 billion. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to P16.8 billion and EBITDA margin improved to 64.0% from the last year’s 60.0%.

The telco giant recorded an all-time high gross subscriber additions of 3.2 million and net additions of 1.4 million for the quarter. The company’s total cellular phone subscriber base exceeded 10.5 million as of end-June 2004, 45.0% up from June 2003. Globe President and CEO Gerardo C. Ablaza, Jr. announced the company is on track with its plans, including an accelerated roll-out and an improved performance since March.

While election activities during the second quarter and tie-ups with fastfood chains helped prop-up Globe’s earnings for the first two quarters, sales from its aggressive post-paid market positioning will help it sustain steady growth in its wireless subscriber base.

Philippines lags behind in IT security spending

28 July 2004 – The Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand are considered laggards in IT security spending among its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region. According to International Data Corporation’s Asia-Pacific Security Services 2004-2008 Forecast as well as its 2003 Year-End Review, these countries still have considerable room to improve their capabilities for technological development, communication infrastructure and regulatory framework setup. In Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan), the adoption of security technologies mimics the level of IT and infrastructure maturity of enterprises.

Australia, New Zealand and Korea belong to the pioneer group of countries since they share the most stable and advanced telecommunications infrastructure in the region. On the other hand, the emerging markets of Greater China, India, Malaysia and Singapore possess the fastest growing markets for Internet and mobile phone users.

IDC forecasts Asia-Pacific’s IT security market to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 22% from 2003-2008. The key growth drivers of the security services market include the escalating threat perception among enterprises; the growing use of Internet and e-commerce activities; and the increasing reliance on wireless and mobile computing.

DOF to lobby Congress for franchise tax on telcos

June 28, 2004 – Instead of imposing a new tax on text messages, legislators want the restoration of the franchise tax on telecommunication companies instead of the value-added tax on telecom services.

The Department of Finance (DOF) said it met with legislators last week to discuss the controversial tax on text messages, exploring its chances of ever making it through either house of Congress.

Finance Secretary Juanita Amatong, however, said legislators were opposing the tax on text messages considering the huge public outcry that the proposal has generated so far and would generate as debates heated.

"We just called the meeting as a kind of informal consultation," Amatong said. "If the executive is going to push for this in Congress, we have to know what its chances are."

Amatong said that based on the initial feedback, legislators would rather revive the franchise tax and increase the rate rather than legislate the text tax.

Amatong explained that the franchise tax was the duty paid by telecommunication companies and other holders of franchises on top of the usual corporate income tax.

The tax rate when it was applicable was five percent of the total gross sales of the franchise holder. When this tax was replaced by the value-added tax, the tax rate was raised to 10 percent.

Amatong said legislators were more inclined to replace the VAT with the franchise tax and just raise the rate from five percent to whatever level would help generate the commensurate amount of revenues.

The franchise tax, however, was less efficient than the VAT.

Since the government has already conceded to remove the VAT on financial transaction and restore the gross receipts tax (GRT), Amatong said there were opinions that the same could be done for the telecommunication sector.

Regardless of form, however, Amatong said the Arroyo administration would have to increase its tax revenues through a new tax package that would include the controversial new tax on text messages.

Text messages using the short messaging system (SMS) are already lumped together with other telecommunication services provided by service providers and are covered by a uniform 10 percent VAT.

Since SMS messages are already covered by the VAT, sources said the proposed tax on text messages are currently classified as a possible excise tax, a form of taxation intended to discourage the use of certain commodities such as alcohol and tobacco.

The telecommunication industry has been the fastest growing industry in the last five years and the country’s creditors including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been urging government to cash in on this growth through new taxes.

DOF to lobby Congress for new tax on telcos

June 03, 2004 – The Department of Finance (DOF) has revived its plan to tax cellular-phone text messaging, invoking its inherent right to tax. The fiscal agency believes that since too much texting transcends necessity, clogs the system, and disrupts productivity, government can impose an excise tax (as it has done on alcohol, cigarette, luxury vehicles, and jewelry) of P0.10 to P0.20 per message sent. DOF plans to raise P7 billion to P14 billion a year from the proposal. The inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee, of which the DOF is a member, will push for its legislation in the next Congress as one of the new revenue measures that will address the fiscal deficit.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. sees the measure as detrimental to the telecommunication sector, the fastest growing sector of the economy. On the other hand, Globe Telecom believes a tax text messaging is double taxation on top of the 10-percent value-added tax on cellular phone cards. The Department of Finance, however, believes texting is not yet taxed directly. Through large amounts of input VAT claims and of expenses on advertising, telecommunications companies have reduced their taxable income.

Consortium to promote Philippines as BPO hub

June 01, 2004 – To market the Philippines as a complete business process outsourcing (BPO) hub, organizations from the private and public sectors recently formed a consortium that will undertake BPO trade missions abroad, thereby strengthening international promotional campaigns of the government.

Dubbed as Business Process Philippines (BPP), the group will attempt to replicate the country's reputation for outsourced contact centers into other IT-enabled services such as transcription, animation, and software development. BPP is a collaboration of the Outsourced Philippines Inc. and the Contact Center Federation of the Philippines. Outsourced Phils. was a brainchild of the Business Development Committee of the now-defunct Information Technology and E-Commerce Council, a body that has been absorbed by the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT).

BPO, a cost-effective strategy of contracting to third parties certain critical and non-critical operations, is tagged as the fastest growing industry in the Philippines.