The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

A stark warning was given last week by John D. Forbes of the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines on the proposed Corporate Income Tax Incentives Reform Act (CITIRA) bill. The current fiscal incentives are very important in compensating foreign investors for the comparatively high costs of doing business in the country, said Forbes. Getting rid of them could result in many firms relocating, with the possible loss of 700,000 jobs in one year alone.

Already concern over the CITIRA bill is having an impact on the property market says Francisco S. Zaldarriaga, president of the Philippine Ecozones Association. Zone developers are now facing an oversupply of space as occupiers delay expansion plans pending confirmation on whether the proposed changes to the tax incentives will become law.

Outside the National Capital Region, however, property development will continue to develop apace, says Sheila Lobien, CEO of Lobien Realty Group, with Pampanga, Cebu and Davao leading the way.  In Cebu, the largest outsourcing center outside the capital, Leechiu Property Consultants’ new Mabuhay Tower in Cebu Business Park recently received its Philippine Economic Zone Authority certification, and is scheduled for completion in early 2020. JEG Tower @ One Acacia, a 22-storey green tower project built by JEG Development Corp, will also open in the first quarter of next year. National developer, Megaworld, said last week that it plans to build two office towers for the BPO sector inside its residential and commercial development, The Upper East, in Bacolod city, to be ready for occupancy in 2022.  Also eager to get in on the act, Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo R. Bayron has said that the BPO sector is among the city’s priority sectors to encourage in the next few years.

Despite the proposed fiscal changes, overseas investor interest in the country continues to bear fruit. Philippine-based animation company TeamApp Inc. has signed an important outsourcing contract with Japan’s Kadokawa Contents Academy. According to the Philippine Department of Finance the Philippines has now become a top choice for Singaporean investment concludes a national business survey conducted by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF). Teo Siong Seng, chairman of the SBF, said that Singapore was the second biggest foreign investor in the Philippines last year and had become its biggest export market in the region.

With international BPO firms fiercely competitive for talent in a rapidly changing workplace, there was also news last week of how top firms are raising their game. Accenture received the Best Workplace of the Year and Industry Champion awards at the recent Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards 2019 ceremony, held in Bangkok, Thailand. Accenture is also the most diverse and inclusive workplace in the world, according to Refinitiv’s Diversity & Inclusion Index. Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were also named among 17 Indian companies that are included in the latest World’s Best Regarded Companies list compiled by Forbes.  Datamatics Global Services announced that it has been recognized in the Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’ report on robotic process automation software. Finally, this year’s Spirit of Wipro Run, which aims to bring about progressive change in society, brought together participants from 110 cities across 34 countries.

Adjusting to the effects of fast-changing technology on recruiting and managing talent in the workforce is not just affecting the big players, however. According to the Deloitte Private 2019 Technology Trends report private and mid-market companies are also changing how they compete for talent. The report found that 72% of executives now consider re-skilling workers as a key strategy to compete in the fierce talent market; with 500 leaders saying they are especially interested in using artificial intelligence.

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

30 September 2019

• Accenture Named as Asia’s Best Workplace, Industry Champion – read article…
• BPO Among Puerto Princesa’s Priority Sectors – read article…
• Philippine Realty Industry To Expand Outside Manila – read article…

27 September 2019

• Datamatics Honored In Gartner’s ‘Voice Of The Customer’ Report – read article…
• JDC To Open Flagship Green Building In Cebu In 2020 – read article…
• Mabuhay Tower CBP To Cater To BPO Firms, Digital Entrepreneurs – read article…

26 September 2019

• Singapore Firms Eye Philippines For Investment – read article…
• CITIRA Will Cause 700,000 Job Losses, Say Foreign Investors – read article…
• Infosys, TCS In Forbes Best Regarded Firms List – read article…

25 September 2019

• Megaworld To Build BPO Towers In Bacolod – read article…
• Employer Tech Investments Change Hiring Practices – read article…
• Ecozone Developers Facing Office Space Oversupply – read article…

24 September 2019

• Philippine Animation Firm Inks Deal With Japanese Academy – read article…
• Accenture Top Company In Terms Of Diversity And Inclusion – read article…
• 34 Countries Participate In Spirit Of Wipro Run – read article…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: September 25, 2019
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: October 9, 2019