Cebu, Philippines Poised to Become Major BPO Destination

Submitted by admin on Mon, 08/10/2009 - 16:00

Experts who attended the recent One Cebu Business Summit held in Cebu City, Philippines have all agreed that the so-called "Queen City of the South" is poised to become a major hub for business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the region.

University of the Philippines economics professor Cayetano Paderanga Jr., one of the guests at the summit cited the BPO and the tourism industries in Cebu City that continue to post positive growth despite the lingering global economic crisis. The province of Cebu has one of the most developed economies in the Philippines and the city of Cebu is one of the four most important.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said the theme of the summit was to position Cebu's BPO industry for the expected economic rebound as she cited the challenges faced by the region.

Garcia told participants of the event, "In difficult times and in future challenges, Cebu never fails to unite and limit our narrower selfish interest and to recognize that our shared destiny is very much larger than ourselves."

Among the strengths offered by Cebu is its relatively lower rent space compared to Metro Manila as well as the cost of power which is 30% cheaper.

The region also has a highly educated workforce estimated at 3.7 million, as well as key infrastructure to support the influx of BPOs. The provincial government of Cebu has designated a special zone for companies who want to outsource their operations in the region.

Paderanga added that Cebu must also widen its services to ensure the growth of its BPO industry and shift from traditional low-cost customer service, sales, etc, to value-added services including software engineering, legal services and transcription.

For his part, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman emeritus Donald Dee said that the four basic necessities for the country to bounce back economically and become globally competitive, is to address the problems on food security, infrastructure, education and power generation.