Aussie firms show interest in RP call center industry

Several Australian companies have expressed an interest in forming joint ventures or strategic alliances with local companies in order to develop the Philippines’ call center industry which is still at a very early stage.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippine John Buckley said there is a great opportunity for technology transfer and cooperation between the two countries.

Buckley noted that from Australia’s point of view, there are a number of factors which provide competitive advantages for call centers in the Philippines. These are the competitive human resource costs, highly skilled people, widespread command of English, and the customer-oriented work culture.

Buckley spoke on the occasion of the launching of ePLDT and Salmat’s joint venture-Contact World. Salmat is one of Australia’s leading teleservices providers and one of Australia’s largest customer communication companies.

Contact World is the recent addition to the growing list of call center companies in the Philippines aiming to get even a small share of the very huge market for US companies outsourcing their teleservices requirements.

Buckley said that Australia’s information and communications technology sector is one of the world’s pacesetters and the most developed market in the region. "Five years ago, our ICT sector turnover was valued at $25 billion and it has been growing at a rate of five percent per annum," he said.

Exports of Australian information technology and telecommunications products and services, he pointed out, are now higher than exports of traditional staples like iron ore, wool, and wheat, or even new products like wine and motor vehicles and parts.

Australia’s ICT sector earned $2.5 billion in export revenues in 1997-1998, making it one of Australia’s largest export industries. Major destinations include New Zealand, the US, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

In the area of telecommunications, Australia is also a leading provider of state-of-the-art equipment and technology. Buckley explained that with a land mass 7.7 million sq.km., Australia has had to develop strong capabilities to service the country.

Australia has a teledensity of over 50 lines per hundred people. In 1998, 98 percent of the country’s communication network was digitized.

"Clearly, Australia is a leading source of expertise and innovation in information and communications technology across a broad range of areas," the Australian envoy said.