BPO expo to host over 100 potential investors in Sept.

OVER a hundred foreign investors and clients will join this year’s International Contact Center Conference & Expo to consider opportunities in the Philippines, industry officials said.

Benedict C. Hernandez, president of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), said that he is expecting most, if not all, invited guests representing various sectors to enter into deals.

“When you are able to get your client to the Philippines, you tremendously increase the chances that it’s a done deal,” he told reporters yesterday in a news conference held at the Mariott Grand Ballroom.

CCAP, the umbrella organization of the Philippine contact center industry also known as business process outsourcing (BPO), will be hosting the two-day event in September. It is the 11th year staging of the conference, though the level of investment interest is unprecedented.

“Most of the demand we see, there’s really no one coming to us for what you call low-end,” he said, citing the earlier days of the industry that focused on segments like directory assistance. “Everybody is looking for the middle and high complex work.”

Mr. Hernandez said that the industry hopes to direct the wave of investors and clients towards the countryside, though he said the Metro Manila region is still top of mind for investors.

“Majority in general cases would first think Manila,” he told reporters in the sidelines of the event, adding that industry leaders then try to “expose” international investors and clients to other areas that also hold potential.

As of now, he said that almost 30% of existing businesses in the Information Technology and Business Process Management industry are located outside Metro Manila.

When asked if there is a target to raise the share of non-Metro Manila sites, Mr. Hernandez, who is also executive committee chairman of the Information and Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, said that “half-half would be a good target” while maintaining that there is no goal yet for road map 2022 — the six-year road map of the industry to be released later this year.

Mr. Hernandez cited the support of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the Department of Trade Industry in helping nurture the state of contact centers.

Source: http://goo.gl/JauleK