The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

As concerns over the economic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic mount worldwide, BPO operators in the Philippines will take comfort from the news that client demand for BPO services is remaining steady. In fact, according to Bong Borja, president of Alorica Asia, BPO companies are also benefiting from companies setting up business continuity plans in the Philippines to mitigate the possible effects of the virus – read full article.

Another report out last week gave more good news on the robust growth still expected for the higher-skilled outsourcing sectors. The animation and game development subsector of the IT-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry is expected to post revenue growth of 7.3% to 12.3% by 2022, forecasts the Animation Council of the Philippines Inc (ACPI). And, despite recent events, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects revenues from the BPO industry to grow by 5% this year. The bank also believes that the Philippine economy has sufficient buffers to ward off the potential adverse effects of international trade disputes and the United Kingdom‘s withdrawal from the European Union. Foreign investment pledges into the Philippines hit record levels last year according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Indications from the property sector also look solid for the coming year. Real estate services firm JLL Philippines has said IT-BPM demand is still stable and will remain the major driver of growth in Metro Manila this year. David Leechiu of Leechiu Property Consultants said office supply in Cebu will grow 46% from 2020 to 2023, with the Cebu IT Park, home to most of the city’s BPO companies, accounting for about 43% of the total pipeline.

The COVID-19 epidemic has, however, added more uncertainty to an increasingly unpredictable global economic outlook. S&P Global Ratings, in line with another rating agency Moody’s Investors’ Service, has trimmed its growth outlook for the Philippine economy down to 6.1% from 6.2% for this year because it believes the coronavirus outbreak will weaken the country’s supply chains. Global trade tensions are still simmering and the introduction of artificial intelligence could threaten the country’s main revenue sources, remittances and outsourcing. Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes, an economist at Ateneo de Manila University argues that more FDI should be sought to counterbalance these threats. One method would be to boost free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries such as the US and South Korea. There is also strong potential for an FTA between the UK and the Philippines. The British government is actively looking to forge such a deal with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said Richard Graham, a UK Trade Envoy to the Philippines.

Industry players also remained active last week. Infosys announced a long-term strategic partnership with GE Appliances, a Haier company, to effectively streamline its IT operations. Teleperformance reported a strong double-digit performance in 2019, hitting new records for growth, profitability, and job creation worldwide. Its offshore operations in the Philippines were also a big beneficiary of its employment hikes last year. The ever-acquisitive Accenture announced it has bought Dutch product design and innovation agency VanBerlo, and also completed its acquisition of Maihiro, a German provider of customer experience and customer relationship management services. The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals also named Canon Business Process Services as one of the top 100 global outsourcing leaders this year, making it the 14th straight year that the outsourcing firm has been named in the Global Outsourcing 100 list.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

NEWS THIS WEEK

24 February 2020

• Teleperformance Posts Double-Digit Growth In 2019 – read article…
• Central Bank Expects BPO Revenues To Grow 5% This Year – read article…
• Foreign Investment Pledges Hit Record High In 2019 – read article…

21 February 2020

• Coronavirus Prompts Firms To Require More Services From PH – read article…
• Accenture Acquires Dutch Agency Vanberlo – read article…
• S&P Trims PH 2020 Growth Due To Coronavirus – read article…

20 February 2020

• UK Envoy Encourages Strong UK-PH FTA – read article…
• POGO To Overtake IT-BPM As Real Estate Driver – read article…
• Infosys Forms Long-Term Deal With GE Appliances – read article…

19 February 2020

• Canon BPS Named In Top 100 Global Outsourcing Leaders – read article…
• Cebu IT Park To Account For 43% Of Office Supply In Metro Cebu – read article…
• Accenture Completes Acquisition Of Germany’s Maihiro – read article…

18 February 2020

• Animation, Game Development Sector Forecast To Grow 7.3% – read article…
• PH Needs To Attract More FDI, Says Economist – read article…
• Central Bank Says PH Is Protected Against Brexit – read article…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: February 12, 2020
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: March 4, 2020