Sun.Star Economic Forum

AN EXECUTIVE of a business process outsourcing (BPO) company admitted that the companies in the industry are partly to blame for misconceptions about the kind of work in a BPO company.

Yogesh Malhotra, lead for Accenture’s Philippine Delivery Center Network for BPO, said “glamorizing” the work of a BPO employee is one of the reasons that many leave the industry.

Most of the recruitment advertisements posted by BPO companies usually highlight “fun at work.” (more)

AMID the lack of qualified people who meet the labor demands of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, an official of a Cebu-based foundation remains bullish about Cebu’s potential to be a Silicon Valley or an “innovation island” and contribute to the country’s economic growth through technological entrepreneurship.

Bonifacio Belen, executive director of the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-it), explained that Cebuanos possess the creativity and entrepreneurship skills that are waiting to be tapped by industry players. (more)

Next to the National Capital Region, Cebu has the biggest concentration of outsourcing and off-shoring workers, said a business processing group official.

Oscar Sanez, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) chief executive officer, said aside from major outsourcing players putting up branches in Cebu, there are companies that have chosen to set up their first Philippine operations in the province.

He said that of the 15,066 business process outsourcing workers in Cebu, 10,013 are “voice-based” while 3,943 are “non-voice.” This figure is about the same as Clark and a third of that of Quezon City, he added. Sanez is one of the speakers of the ongoing Sun.Star Economic Forum on “Business Process Outsourcing: Prospects and Challenges for Cebu’s Economy.”
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Available workforce, a good business environment, and available sites for expansion, which drive the growth of the outsourcing and off-shoring industry, are also the factors posing problems to the sector.

Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) chief executive officer Oscar Sanez said that if the country fails to address these issues in the next few years, outsourcing and off-shoring investments will go to other emerging markets. Read the rest of this entry »

SUN.STAR Publishing Inc. President Jesus B. Garcia opened Wednesday’s Sun.Star Economic Forum on Business Process Outsourcing with the identification of challenges and issues confronting the industry.

This year’s economic forum is focused on the prospects and challenges of BPO.

Garcia, who was former transportation and telecommunications secretary, said Cebu being a limestone island couldn’t grow in terms of agriculture and industry.

“The only way for Cebu to grow is to grow through the services sector, “ Garcia added.

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STAKEHOLDERS in the business process outsour-cing industry in Cebu are expected to participate in the Sun.Star Economic Forum to be held tomorrow at the Parklane International Hotel.

The forum, set to begin at 8 a.m. with the registration of participants, will feature prominent local, national and international figures in the business process outsourcing (BPO).

In the first part of the forum, Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (CEDF-IT) president Bonifacio Belen will present the future of BPOs in Cebu and in the country. (more)

By Ernesto G. Yap
University of San Carlos

ON July 17, 2008, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its key interest rates by half a percent. This is supposed to help arrest rising inflation. Higher interest rates decrease spending as people are motivated to save. With less spending, there is less demand of goods and, therefore, inflation is expected to slow down.

On the other hand, higher interest rates would increase payments to all kinds of bank loans, as we assume production to be constant. But since businesses have to pay higher interest for their bank loans, would they not increase the prices of goods and services they provide? Is this not going to fuel more inflation?

With higher interest rates, will prospective investors be motivated to invest?

Under a high-interest scenario, an investor will have a higher required rate of return. This will then limit the choices of investment he or she can venture into.

Yet, in our past economic performance, investments were always below expectations, making our future sustained consumption in doubt. (more)

CEBU’S economy is considered to be the fastest growing among other provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao, and is the fifth largest in the country.

In recent years, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has become one of the main drivers of economic growth in the province. Nearly all recently-completed buildings, as well as those being constructed at the moment, are meant to cater to the projected need for office space of BPO companies.

This year’s Sun.Star Economic Forum (SEF), as a resource of information on Cebu’s business environment, will tackle issues related to the BPO industry.(more)

DURING the debut of this column last May 9, we talked about the 4th Sun.Star Economic Forum held last August 2007 to discuss the problems of Cebu’s tourism industry.

Stakeholders from the industry—from hotel and restaurant operators, to tour operators and mall owners and representatives from the Department of Tourism—weighed in on the issues of manpower, transportation, cleanliness and road infrastructure, saying improvements in these areas could improve the travel experience of tourists, give Cebu a better image, and possibly encourage repeat visits or recommendations to visit the Philippines.

At the end of the conference, the Sun.Star Economic Forum (SEF), a deliberative and advocacy body working for the growth and development of Cebu and Central Visayas, came up with resolutions, setting the stage for its push into advocacy. (more)

CEBU is not just an island in the Pacific. It is an economic powerhouse.

Accounting for 46 percent of exports in the Visayas and Mindanao and 17 percent of foreign tourism in the Philippines, it is the main driver of growth in Central Visayas, the fifth largest economy in the country. It is against the backdrop of Cebu’s unrelenting drive to succeed that the Sun.Star Economic Forum now presents itself as a proactive partner.

The Sun.Star Economic Forum (SEF) aims to become a catalyst for Cebu’s economic prosperity.

A deliberative and advocacy body working for the growth and development of Cebu and Central Visayas, the SEF relies primarily on the Sun.Star newspaper and website for the dissemination of its advocacies. It is in this spirit that we begin today a twice-monthly column.(more)