The processing unit will be located at the 18.7-hectare PEZA administered Northgate Cyberzone IT Park in Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang. It will move its operations from its present office in Makati, where it started its operations early this year, to Northgate in March 2001.
The processing unit will be operated under SGS Global Trade Solutions Philippines, Inc. (SGS GTS) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of SGS Holding S.A. of Switzerland.
SGS Global Trade Solutions was born in the new millennium to mark a radical change in SGS’s approach to the rapidly evolving trade environment. While renewing SGS traditional commitment to fully support governments and institutions in the implementation of economic programs, Global Trade Solutions shifts its focus to encompass the trade community at large.
With a view to adapting its response to changing needs, to stand by emerging economies confronted with the challenge of globalization, to optimize technological solutions and maintain high standards of competitiveness, SGS has developed a new range of trade solutions aimed at generating additional revenues to governments and facilitating trade.
SGS GTS is a processing unit which will act as the back-office service center for its affiliates outside the Philippines that are engaged in import verification, inspection and related activities under contract with various client governments and international institutions.
Representing SGS GTS at the registration ceremony at the PEZA office, which was held last Dec. 14 were Bjorn A. Segerblom, chairman and president, and Eric Cheng, processing unit manager. Signing for PEZA was Director General Lilia B. de Lima.
Segerblom said SGS is staying in the Philippines because it still believed in the country’s social and political stability as well as in its bright economic potential even though SGS’s preshipment inspection contract with the government expired last March after almost 12 years of service.
The Philippines was selected as its choice location because of its educated and skilled workers, social and political stability, adequate existing infrastructure including IT facilities, and relatively lower costs, among other reasons.
Cheng said SGS-GTS would initially pour in P115 million in new investments, mainly for the purchase locally of computers, other information (IT) equipment and the retrofitting of the new location in the Northgate.
The processing unit will eventually employ about 200 staff by year 2004. At least 95 percent of the workforce will be Filipinos, whom Cheng described as among the most IT literate in the world.