BPO sector unfazed by continued peso rise

MANILA, Philippines -  Major players in the $12-billion information technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines are unfazed by the continued appreciation of the local currency against the US dollar.

Benedict Hernandez, president of the 81-strong Contact Center Association of the Philippines, said yesterday in a press conference that the industry’s growth momentum would continue despite the higher costs brought about by the weaker US dollar.

“Despite the growing costs, there is still a significant rate of momentum and growth will continue,” Hernandez stressed.

The peso has strengthened to the 41 to $1 territory this month, hitting a four-year high of P41.57 to $1 yesterday on the back of the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals as well as the economic problems in advanced economies that continue to drive speculative foreign funds to the Philippines.

He pointed out that the industry’s cost is not only dictated by the supply side that covers the providers of the BPO services in the country, but by the demand side that involves the clients that are based mostly in the US and Europe.

Under the Roadmap 2016 established by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the industry is expected to register a compounded annual growth rate of 20 percent hitting $25 billion by 2016 or about 10 percent of the P256-billion global IT-BPO market share.

This year, the industry’s revenue base is expected to grow 24 percent to about $12 billion from last year’s $8 billion.

Alejandro Melchor, deputy executive director of the Information and Communications Technology Office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-ICTO), urged major players in the industry to revise upwards the targets under the Roadmap 2016.

 “The trend shows that this industry will be bigger than that,” Melchor stressed.

As the global economy improves, he explained that the middle income segment that would demand more services would expand prompting companies to outsource their services.

He added that the Philippines would continue to grow from higher demand.

 “The Philippines is very fortunate to be a global leader in this. The IT BPO is a very important industry,” he added.

The Philippines is set to host the International Contact Center Conference & Expo 2012 (ICCCE) on September 18 and 19 with the theme of “The Future of Outsourcing.”

The event is the world’s largest trade show for contact center professionals and would feature plenary sessions and panel discussions.