WB Says PH to Continue Steady Growth
Source: http://www.mmdnewswire.com
Posted: 2011-01-13
The economy of the Philippines will continue to grow steadily for 2011 and 2012, says the World Bank (WB) in its latest Global Economic Prospects 2011 report.
The report, which the WB publishes twice annually, estimates that the country's 6.8 percent growth in 2010 will stabilize to 5 percent in 2011 then 5.4 percent in 2012.
During the launch of the GEP 2011, Eric Le Borgne, World Bank Senior Economist for the Philippines, commented that, "GDP growth has been stronger than expected, reflective of rapid recovery and election-related spending amidst a strong external position which has led to a sovereign credit rating upgrade in November by Standard and Poor's."
The senior economist explains that the continued economic growth of the Philippines relies on the assumption that the strong investor confidence will be supported by the government in much-needed reforms and in improving the overall investment climate.
Although the country faces risks from the economic downturn of developed countries, Le Borgne says the outlook for the country's top performing sectors remains positive. The electronics and semiconductor sector will remain strong, while the services sector, led by the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, will continue to grow, explains Le Borgne.
Research Shows Big 4 Dominating F&A BPO Market
Source: http://www.horsesforsources.com
Posted: 2011-01-05
Research firm Horses for Sources (HfS) says their market analysis of the global finance & accounting BPO market sees three large outsourcing service providers cornering more than fifty percent of the market.
The report, soon to be released by HfS, indicates that BPO newcomers are "clearly struggling to take any significant share away from the 'Big 4' incumbent providers: Accenture, IBM,Genpact and Capgemini."
HfS says the Big 4 has managed to close multimillion dollar deals during the past years, leveraging on existing contracts and renewing them. The firm says Accenture has been the most active in winning large enterprise clients. Most newcomers, HfS reports, close deals that fall under the sub-$5m category.
The HfS data, beginning with 2004 lasting through 2010, shows average contract deals steadily decreasing. The firm advises BPO newcomers to "stay the course," winning smaller deals and growing them, and at the same time, turning a profit.
HfS advises that common technology platforms, common process workflows, and reliance on the Cloud will definitely help providers with their multi-client shared-service capability, but "flexible, ample, people-delivery resources" are still important in closing a deal.
Philippines' outsourcing industry to gain from US economic slowdown
Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com
Posted: 2008-09-30
MANILA: The economic slowdown in the United States is likely to boost the Philippines' outsourcing industry. The country is aiming for a 10 percent share of the US$130
billion global market.
Round-the-clock construction work of new office buildings is sweeping across the Philippines.
At McKinley Hill, 15 hectares has been set aside for an information technology park, which will house business process outsourcing (BPO) offices costing almost US$260
million.
Investments like these have led international real estate services firms to dub the Philippines as the hottest real estate market in Southeast Asia.
Vice-chairman of CB Richard Ellis Philippines, Joey Radovan, said: "Our neighbours in Asia right now have property values that are actually very high compared to the
Philippines. We are probably three to five times cheaper in terms of space."
Outsourcing firms now account for more than 60 percent of the office spaces in the central business district of Makati.
With the current economic slowdown in the United States, more and more companies are now turning to outsourcing to save on costs. That is why the Philippines'
outsourcing industry is confident it will earn at least US$7 billion in 2008, a 40 percent increase from last year.
The Philippines is seeking to corner a 10 per cent share of the US$130 billion business process outsourcing global market by 2010.
First vice-president of Megaworld Corporation, Jericho Go, said: "Despite what has been happening globally, they continue to have customers so if they won't be able to
service that from the US because costs are prohibitive, then they have to look for a cheaper or a more affordable area to outsource, and certainly the Philippines is
on top of the list."
The government has established the Philippine Cyber Corridor initiative to encourage more offshoring and outsourcing firms to set up shop in other regions.
CEO of Processing Association of the Philippines, Oscar Sanez, said: "The Philippines is global number two now in BPO and I think not many are aware of that. We would
like to think that we are part of the solution in this whole issue of slowdown. We are in fact offering the Philippine solution.
"Consider the Philippines in your strategy, and the strategy of the company will be how to survive in this whole environment where costs are being challenged and the
revenue targets continue to be very stringent."
One of the industries that the country is targeting now is the engineering services outsourcing global market, which is worth US$100 billion.
The Philippines also wants to take advantage of the growth of the real estate industries in the Middle East and Europe.
CEO of Environments Global, Antony Zubiri, said: "We're doing a township in the Middle East. We're doing a mall in Europe. We're doing housing projects and building
complexes in Australia. It is our vision to be able to establish the Philippines as the destination for design process delivery worldwide."
The government is hoping to generate 1.5 million jobs by 2010 with the growing demand for business process outsourcing in the country.
Education lifts RP BPO Industry over India and China
Source: http://www.inquirer.net
Posted: 2008-08-01
MANILA, Philippines -- India and China have bigger economies but the Philippines has a higher "educational density" and thus in a better position to move ahead in offshore outsourcing, according to an economics professor from Europe.
Professor Guido Dedene, a faculty member of Belgium's Catholic University of Leuven and Netherlands' University of Amsterdam, believes the country's "unique" characteristics make it a more viable outsourcing destination for either United States or Europe.
Dedene cited a recent McKinsey study that predicts that by 2011, the US and United Kingdom alone will be capable of "consuming" the outsourcing capacities of India, China and the Philippines.
"Majority of companies in Europe, for example, go to either India or China because they simply don't know much about the Philippines," Dedene said in an interview with INQUIRER.net.
Dedene is in Manila for next week's SSME (Service Science Management and Engineering) conference organized by IBM and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT).
IBM defines SSME as a multi-disciplinary academic and research approach that integrates more established areas like computer science, operations research, engineering, business and management.
In the context of BPO, the goal is to group together stakeholders such as business and government with the research and academic community.
"The Philippines has six times more educated people than India per capita," Dedene said, citing data from the McKinsey study. "In India, outsourcing is present in a few cities. In the Philippines, the entire country can be tapped for BPO (business process outsourcing)."
Dedene likewise cited the Filipinos' strong English proficiency and service-oriented nature, often mentioned by BPO investors doing business in the country.
"But beyond a good English accent, a key advantage is the fact that the Philippines is a young nation. If we start educating Filipinos now, it will pay off profitably in the future," he said.