Philippines pushed as BPO hub

The government will promote the Philippines as an "e-services hub" for business process outsourcing (BPO) in trade missions to North America and Europe this year, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Mission (CITEM) said. Trade Assistant Secretary Fe Agoncillo-Reyes, CITEM executive director, said the government will promote the country for both voice/non-voice and high-value BPO services that require specialized skills known as knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). The "e-Services Philippines" drive in the US is scheduled for April 23 to May 4 and will cover New York, Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Chicago in Illinois, and Toronto, Canada. It will then travel to the United Kingdom by May 28 to June 8; back to Philadelphia in the United States by October, and Singapore by December. "The mission is part of the government’s strategic marketing program to position the Philippines as a preferred e-services hub," Ms. Agoncillo-Reyes said, citing potentials in providing contact agents and in developing KPO fields such as finance and accounting, legal services, healthcare, among others. Industry estimates show BPO services generating $12.2 billion in annual revenues and employing 920,000 workers by 2010, from last year’s 237,000 jobs and $3.5 billion in revenues. In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said David Kinnear, president of global BPO firm DDC HRO, had noted the Philippines’ potential for KPO and skills-based services. Russell Metcalf, senior director of outsourcing consulting firm NeoIT, was also quoted as saying that the United States stands to benefit from the BPO industry in the Philippines. "The effectiveness of the Philippine workforce in handling customer service, human resources, information technology services and other functions shows that [outsourcing] US business needs [to] this country is the right thing to do," Mr. Metcalf said. Experts and economists have cited the proficiency of the country’s workforce in English as the Philippines’ edge in providing BPO services to developed English-speaking countries, compared to China or India, which is the global BPO leader. -BusinessWorld