PLDT's BPO unit eyes operations in Latin America and China

MANILA, Philippines - SPi Global, the business process outsourcing (BPO) unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is looking at setting up operations in Latin America and China as part of its worldwide expansion.

 “We plan to put up a site in Latin America in the next three to six months, a 200-people operation that will address near-shore requirement of American firms,” SPi Global president and chief executive Maulik Parekh said.

He revealed that they are looking at a potential partner in China for BPO operations in the said country but pointed out that SPi can also establish its own facility there.

At present, SPi Global has 10 sites in the Philippines and is also operating in the United States, Europe, India and Vietnam. Its clients are from the US, Australia, Brazil, India, China, Western Europe, Malaysia, Singapore and Canada.

Parekh said the BPO firm targets to end the year with up to 15 percent more workforce from its current labor count of 14,000. He added that across the board, SPi Global will have at least 14 percent growth in 2011.

SPi Global, the largest Filipino-owned global BPO firm, has recently created around 900 seats in its newly-launched site in Dumaguete City and added about 200 seats in its Iloilo site.

Parekh said the firm is strengthening its presence in the publishing, healthcare and interactive segments as these are considered high-value, high-margin services. “We have already established our presence in these segments where there are many barriers to entry,” he said.

He also pointed out that 67 percent of SPi Global’s operations are non-voice services and the rest are voice. It is estimated that the global BPO composition will shift from 43 percent non-voice this year to 58 percent in 2016.