The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, July 17, 2019

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THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Despite the challenges of new technology and an uncertain global economic outlook, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) is predicting 4% growth in revenue for the sector this year. This is a small decline from last year’s figure of 5.1%. One positive trend driving this growth is the successful adaptation to new digital services, says Jojo Uligan, CCAP president. A 2018 CCAP job complexity study showed that 55% of contact center jobs are now categorized as ‘mid-skilled’, and 30% as ‘high skilled’. The shift to higher value services has been achieved over the past five years.

Last week, concerns over the government’s ban on new Metro Manila economic zones continued to be raised. Up to 50,000 jobs in the BPO industry could be lost as a result, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines said. There are worries that the capital will not be able to meet high demand for space, hence escalating office costs. By the end of 2019, Metro Manila could become the world’s third largest office market, says Leechiu Property Consultants CEO David Leechiu. Furthermore, expatriates, who are generally based in Manila, like the place. The Philippines has been ranked 24th best place in the world for expats to live and work this year, according to the HSBC Expat 2019 annual survey. It has moved up from 26th place last year, and is now ahead of China and only one place down from the US. 

Driving office demand is the fact that the BPO sector is no longer the only game in town. The Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) industry is expected to become the top office space demand driver in Metro Manila by the end of 2019, says Leechiu. The explosive growth of the POGO industry is bringing welcome investment and diversification to the country’s economy, but it is not without its teething problems, particularly the flood of Chinese workers into the country. An inter-agency agreement is now set to be signed by different government agencies to regulate and avoid the legal lapses in the hiring of Chinese workers. There is also a new tax regime for more than 100,000 casino workers in the country, aimed at better addressing mismatches in income between foreign and local workers in the sector. 

Meanwhile, development of BPO-friendly properties in the regions continues. Filinvest Land is expanding its office property assets aimed at the BPO industry in its Mimosa+ Leisure City in Clark, Pampanga. Davao’s Damosa Land took home three awards for its Diamond Tower at the Philippines Property Awards 2019, including one for Best BPO Office Development.

BPO company news saw Cognizant named as Leader in the new IDC Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Services 2019 Vendor Assessment report. EXL, an operations management and analytics firm, was ranked 14th in the Gartner list of 25 Fastest-Growing BPO Providers’ Annual Growth Rate, 2018, for notching up a growth rate of 15.8% against an industry average of 3.3%. Software services company Tata Consultancy Services announced that it hired 30,000 individuals in the first quarter of this financial year ended June; one of its biggest ever intakes. Of interest to the growing outsourced accounting segment, is the announcement that global IT and BPM firm Datamatics Global Services has partnered with Thomson Reuters to jointly develop the tax validation solution TaxAnalyze.

Another company that received recognition last week was Globe Telecom at the 9th Asian Excellence Awards, where it won a number of awards for its high standards of disclosure, transparency and fairness in disseminating information to its stakeholders and shareholders. It will soon need plenty of shareholder and customer goodwill for its upcoming fight. Dito Community Corp (the new name for the Mislatel Consortium) has also finally received its telecoms license – granted with the explicit purpose of the company shaking up the country’s cozy telecoms duopoly to which Globe belongs.

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Wednesday, July 17, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

15 July 2019

Datamatics, Thomson Reuters Team Up To Offer TaxAnalyze Solution - read article...

TCS Reports Highest Hiring In Five Years - read article...

Damosa Land’s New Office Tower Wins Awards - read article...

12 July 2019

Metro Manila Set To Become World’s Third Largest Office Market - read article...

Filinvest Expands Office Portfolio In Clark - read article...

Government Agencies Join Up To Regulate Chinese POGO Workers - read article...

11 July 2019

EXL Is Now Among World’s Fastest Growing BPO Providers - read article...

Mislatel Finally Gets Philippines Telco License - read article...

Philippines Introduces New Income Tax For Casino Workers - read article...

10 July 2019

Philippines Ranks 24th In Best Places For Expats To Live And Work - read article...

Cognizant Named Leader For AI Services - read article...

Globe Telecom Wins Multiple Awards At Asian Excellence Awards - read article...

9 July 2019

Contact Centers Expect 4% Revenue Growth This Year - read article...

Manila Ecozone Ban May Lead To Loss Of 50,000 BPO Jobs - read article...

Philippine Contact Centers Benefit From Digital Shift, Says CCAP - read article...

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