Gov’t, PLDT to sell RP’s IT outsourcing services in the US

Government, in partnership with the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is set to establish a marketing office in the United States to promote aggressively and extensively the Philippines’ information technology (IT) outsourcing services.

The deployment of marketing representatives resulted from a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in Washington, D last year by PLDT and the Philippine government. The MOU provides that PLDT will shoulder the costs associated with the hiring and the performance of such marketing people.

Efforts of the IT marketing office will be supervised by the commercial counselor of the Philippine embassy in Washington, D and will effectively supplement the work of the three US-based representatives of the Department of Trade and Industry who are assigned in Washington, D, New York and Silicon Valley.

The office will coordinate with the Philippine consuls general in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Honolulu, Guam and Saipan and with the honorary consuls general in Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans who will strategically assist in identifying potential clients among American companies in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said the company is proud to partner with the government in its bid to capture a bigger share of IT out-sourcing worldwide, particularly in the US.

Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar Purisima projects that the country’s contact centers sector will reach 80,000 seats in 2005 compared to the 40,000 expected this year. He further expects that in the next five years, the Philippines will be able to attract 50 percent of worldwide call center business "as we continue to intensify our promotion and skills training programs. "

For his part, Philippine Ambassador to the US Albert del Rosario said that "with PLDT’s experience in the private sector, the new marketing office will boost our campaign to showcase the Philippines as Southeast Asia’s IT hub."

The outsourcing services which the Philippines currently offers are call centers, application systems and software development, animation, medical transcription, engineering and architectural design, and business process outsourcing (BPO) services.