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By Bernardette S. Sto.
Domingo, Thursday, April 10, 2008, Business World
THE PHILIPPINE business process outsourcing (BPO) industry should focus
on markets outside the United States if it is to corner 10% of the
global BPO market by 2010, the European Chamber of Commerce of the
Philippines (ECCP) yesterday said.
ECCP Executive Vice-President Henry Schumacher said the Philippines
should start setting its sights on other large and dynamic markets such
as Europe to expand its global reach.
"The Philippines has successfully invaded the US, but Europe is a huge
market. India is everywhere, the Philippines isn’t. We have to go out
and sell the Philippines as a good offshoring and outsourcing
destination," he told reporters in a press briefing.
He stressed a lot of work needs to be done if the country is to achieve
a 10% global market share in two years, as stipulated in the Business
Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) Road-map 2010.
Data from the European IT-Service Center Foundation showed that local
BPO’s share in Europe’s $40-billion industry was just 1.2% as of 2007,
while European accounts made up 10% of the $5-billion local industry
revenues.
"We have to tap the European market next. There are huge opportunities
for the Philippines. As the European market grows, we can grow with
them," European IT-Service Center Foundation Business Development
Manager Stephanie Weber said.
For his part, BPA/P Chief Executive Officer Oscar Sañez said the
Philippines is ready to take advantage of opportunities in Europe. "For
one, their currency is more stable. It’s important to see predictability
and stability in this area. Also, there are studies saying the US
economic recession will not have a significant impact on Europe," he
said.
Issues on transparency and corruption, however, continue to discourage
foreign investments, Mr. Schumacher said. The country should also offer
more attractive incentive schemes to convince investors to come in, he
added.
Ms. Weber, for her part, said lack of positive news is a big factor in
the decision-making process of prospective investors. "We have to put
the country in the radar screen of these foreign companies. I think the
biggest threat to investments is the Philippines’ reputation [corruption
issues, coup attempts]," she said.
To promote the Philippines as a prime BPO and IT location for European
firms, the government and the private sector have formed TeamEurope, an
initiative aimed at providing information on business opportunities in
the Philippines and Europe through its Web site,
www.team-europe-philippines.com. The group is composed of the Board of
Investments, ECCP, BPA/P, European IT-Service Center, British Chamber of
Commerce of the Philippines, Center for International Trade Expositions
and Missions, and the Commission on Information and Communications
Technology.
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