By Kris M. Crismundo
MANILA, June 23 (PNA) — The country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) sector can further expand services it offers as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) takes effect by the end of this year.
Information Technology Business Processing Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President Jose Mari Mercado told reporters at the sidelines of Teleperformance SM Aura office opening on Tuesday that the ASEAN integration will play a major role in the growth of the local BPO industry.
Mercado said it will be easier for the Philippines to expand services that will require other ASEAN languages such as Bahasa and Thai, among others as the AEC offers free flow of goods, services, investment, and skilled labor.
He added that multinational companies that servicing Southeast Asian countries can locate in the Philippines and easily get other ASEAN language-speaking agents to work in the country.
“That is the value of ASEAN integration. It will make easier for companies to get in some talents from other countries to work in the Philippines,” he said.
In attracting investments from global BPO companies, Mercado mentioned that the Philippines is banking on its reputation as one of the BPO leaders globally.
“What the clients want to take advantage of [the Philippines] is the expertise and the reputation that the Philippines already has in terms of operating contact centers,” he stressed.
“We are already known as call center of the world,” he added.
“With ASEAN integration, we’re getting lot of inquiries now across the ASEAN region,” said Mercado.
Meanwhile, the IBPAP official mentioned that the country continues to attract investments from the United States market but huge growth potential is observed in markets of Australia and New Zealand.
The country’s IT-BPO industry is one of the bullish sector in the Philippines and supports the national economy.
The industry had a revenue of USD18 billion in 2014 and is growing by double digit or at least 15 percent annually.
As of end-2014, the IT-BPO industry created a total of 1.03 million jobs nationwide. (PNA)