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PHILIPPINE INFOTECH FIRMS REV UP SALES PITCH IN BPO FORUM HOSTED BY NEW YORK CONSULATE AND DEPARTMENT OF TRADE

PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL - NEWS RELEASE
10 October 2005

New York, NEW YORK --- On October 20, nineteen (19) leading information technology (IT) and IT-enabled service companies from the Philippines enthusiastically promoted their products and services at a half-day Business Process Outsourcing forum sponsored by the Philippine Consulate General and Department of Trade Industry at the Philippine Center in New York. These were: Advanced Contact Solutions, Inc.; ADEC Solutions, Inc.; Ambergris Solutions, Inc.; Berthaphil, Inc. Business Park; Business process Outsourcing International, Inc.; Comfac Global Group; Diversified Technology Solutions Internationals, Inc.; Exist Software Labs, Inc.; Eximius, BPO Services Inc.; Innove Communications-Globequest; Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company; Pointwest Technologies Corporation; Quisumbing Torres; SENCOR; SPI Technologies, Inc.; Teledata Philippines, Inc.; Transprocure Corporation; Global Procurement Solution & Services; and Virtual Assistants Philippines, Inc.

The forum was attended by more than fifty (50) CEOs and other key officers of a broad spectrum of U.S. companies interested in learning more about the Philippines’ IT and IT-enabled services industry. The U.S. companies included Merrill Lynch-Global Private Client, Welch Capital Partners LLC, Citicorp Investment Services, Citibank, MCI, Hfybro Group, Inc., Altria Group, Inc., and scribesMD.

Senior Undersecretary Thomas Aquino of the Philippine Trade and Industry led the 19 Philippine IT/ITES firms in a business mission designed to further increase awareness of the country’s IT and ITES industry in the highly lucrative US market, and possibly close business deals with some American companies.

Contracts originating from the U.S. currently account for more than forty percent (40%) of total outsourcing transactions (i.e., call centers and business process outsourcing) in the Philippines. The U.S. is followed by the U.K. with 20%, Germany, 12%, and the rest of Europe, 16.5%. Industry analysts predict the demand for outsourcing by U.S. clients to increase to 60% by 2008. Given this forecast, Philippine IT firms, with the active support of the Philippine Government, are revving up their sales pitch to increase their share of the world market for off-shored services.

In his keynote address, Undersecretary Aquino focused on the advantages of the Philippines as a location of e-services. These advantages, he said, includes the following: Available quality human resources (highly-educated workforce who additional command the lowest IT salary among 32 countries for the same skills); superior infrastructure support (redundant international connectivity; deregulated telecommunications infrastructure; and presence of IT parks right in the center of business districts); strategic location of the Philippines vis-à-vis other countries within and outside the region; cultural affinity with the west, quality of life of expatriates (value for money housing, modern recreational facilities, and first-rate educational institutions with presence of international schools); and strong government support.

Undersecretary Aquino’s keynote address was followed by firm level presentations. The Philippine IT/ITES firms spoke on their respective products and services although they shared a common value proposition: that of offering quality service at affordable cost. Specifically, they spoke about the country’s world-class infrastructure and services, highly skilled manpower and competitively priced real estate that make the Philippines an ideal location for any IT/ITES-related enterprise.

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Albert del Rosario also attended the half-day business forum. In his welcome address, the Ambassador said that the Philippine government is solidly behind the Philippine IT industry because of its promise for high economic growth. He added that “by supporting the Philippine ICT industry in terms of putting into place much needed policies and regulations, the Philippine government is helping the local industry grow and increase its competitiveness in the world market, and also the local economy in terms of job creation.” Some of the more recent government policies designed to strengthen the local IT industry include the following: Establishment of a Commission in Information and Communications Technology; passage of the so-called E-Commerce Law which recognized the validity of e-records, e-contracts and digital signatures, and declared hacking as a criminal offense); and passage of the Intellectual Property Code.

After the forum, the Philippine companies had one-on-one sessions with interested U.S. companies as a preliminary step to possible future business transactions.

Before the October 20 business forum, the 14 RP IT/ITES firms participated at the OutsourceWorld Expo, which ran from Oct. 18 to 19 at the New York Metropolitan Pavilion. Senior Trade Representative Eugene Reyes of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in York said “the Philippine IT delegation this time is by far the biggest to participate in an outsourcing exhibition and conference in the U.S. mainland.”