Foreign firms eyeing Cebu as supplier of backroom services
[ Manila Bulletin Online ] January 3, 2009
By MALOU M. MOZO
CEBU CITY – More investments in information communications technology (ICT) are expected to cause a major turnaround of Cebu’s economy this new year, bouyed by the entry of more business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, industry leaders said.
"We have to prepare for the best in the IT (information technology) industry, especially the BPO sector. Everybody is now looking at Cebu," said Cebu Investments and Promotions Center Managing Director Joel Mari Yu.
Employment prospects in the ICT sector are also seen to be bright this year, Yu said, noting last year’s achievement of Cebu, which was described as the top emerging BPO destination in the world in a survey conducted by Tholons.
As multinational firms are projected to cut on production cost this year, more companies, even those in the United States, are expected to outsource their backroom services in some areas such as human resource, legal accounting, animation, medical transcription, and software development.
"Now that the United States and other parts of the world are suffering from financial difficulties, more companies will consider outsourcing their services, and Cebu is, no doubt, the best choice in the Philippines," Yu said.
"It is inevitable for US President Barack Obama to realize the importance of outsourcing to revive and revitalize the slumping global economy. The continuous globalization trend is not seen to stop any time and may not be even stopped altogether," he said.
Yu expressed belief that Cebu is expected to brace for the entry of more players in the outsourcing and offshoring industry this year, saying that the construction of support facilities like commercial buildings is being rushed.
"Given the excellent performance of the BPO and ICT industry, more buildings are expected to rise and transform the city into a fully developed outsourcing site," said Victor Asuncion, head for research of the CB Richard Ellis.
Bonifacio Belen, executive director of the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for IT (Cedfit), projected creation of more jobs in the ICT industry and other IT-enabled services in Cebu, saying this is seen to reach at least 15,000. He noted an increase in demand for software developers and IT engineers.
Belen said the demand for competent personnel in the local industry can go as high as 20,000 to 50,000 from 2009 to 2010.
Cebu’s software development sector generates an average of some million a year. Beginning in 2009, this figure is expected to double along with the rising availability of high skilled software developers, he said.
