BusinessWorld: India BPO outfit opens call center in RP

A business process outsourcing (BPO) firm based in India has opened its first Philippine facility, worth $4 million to $5 million, seeking to ride on the local information technology sector’s phenomenal growth. The Chennai-based Allsec Technologies Ltd. inaugurated a 2,579-square meter facility at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig on Thursday after formalizing its acquisition of a Filipino call center. Allsec Senior Vice-President Paolo Narciso said the $1.5-million acquisition of Kingdom Builders, Inc. (KBI) was made last October, in a move to adapt to customers’ demands. "It is what the customers are asking for. They do not want to be [outsourced] in India; they want to be [outsourced] in the Philippines among many other places," he said. For his part, Allsec Founder and President Adi Saravanan said the acquisition was made to increase the firm’s customer base in South East Asian markets. "We expect business to do well. And because of our ability to provide solutions from multiple geographies, we can attract more clients," he said. Among Allsec clients are a student loan consolidator, a personal computer manufacturer, a mortgage and debt consolidation lender, an internet service provider, and an automobile company. "We want to take advantage of a local management taking care of the business, so we acquired KBI," Mr. Saravanan added. KBI used to be a 150-seat call center in Ortigas Center, Pasig, providing services like technical support and web development predominantly to American clients. The required 670 agents and 80 administrative employees for the new Taguig call center have yet to be completed, Mr. Narciso said. "We are expecting to be covered within six to twelve months," he said, adding that the Taguig call center should start operations in two weeks by absorbing 150 former KBI employees. The Taguig facility will cater to existing and future customers from the US , Australia Southeast Asia, officials said. Allsec is particularly aiming for Singapore-based companies as a customers for its Philippine unit because of "geographic and cultural proximities." - Marian Grace S. Ramos