RP urged to provide perks for IT sector

One of the world’s information technology leaders suggested yesterday that the Philippine government put in place the proper incentives for the country to flourish as an information technology (IT) haven.

In an exclusive interview with The STAR at the Tower  Club in Makati City, Acer Group of Taiwan co-founder Stan Shih said the Philippines should also move up to higher value business process if it is to maintain its attractiveness as a center for business process outsourcing (BPO).

In 1976, Shih co-founded Multitech International Corp., the forerunner of Acer with $25,000, and has since led Acer to become a global personal computer (PC) vendor. Today, Acer ranks number four for total PCs and number 3 for notebooks worldwide. At the time of his retirement from the Acer Group, the combined annual revenues of Acer, BenQ and Winstron had reached $22.2 billion. He remains a member of the board of these three companies, all of which he has had a hand in founding.

Shih believes he has had a hand in reducing the so-called “digital divide” when Acer broke the ranks of world PC vendors, then dominated by American brands, and brought down the prices of PCs and notebooks to more affordable levels. “At Acer, I worked hard to make computers more affordable,” he said.

The key to Acer’s success, Shih emphasized, has been research and development and innovation, in order to develop better and more affordable products.

He expressed optimism that it will only be a matter of time before the digital divide is finally bridged. “Aside from the price of computers, there are still many other issues, including software, education, and resources,” Shih noted.

Shih has been going around the world, calling on governments and businesses to put in more resources into helping make information technology work for the less privileged.

As for the importance of IT in the growth of any economy, Shih emphasized that IT is the tool for productivity and development of core competence. “You have to invest on IT. But is is not only government, but also the private sector that should be doing this. Resources are limited. Many are still looking for quick returns on their investments. The benefits of IT are more long-term,” he said.

Shih, likewise, advised that every country should find its own niche in the IT industry. “The Philippines, for instance, has the opportunity to become a powerhouse in the software sector,” he said.

But every country seeking to join the IT bandwagon has to invest in infrastructure and human resources development. “In Taiwan for instance, the government has promoted science and technology in education and has encouraged engineering education,” he revealed.

In 2006, Time magazine selected Shih as its cover feature on “60 years of Asian Heroes” for turning Taiwan into a PC manufacturing powerhouse. In 2004, Business Week selected Shih as one of the “25 Stars of Asia” who care deeply about societies and want to make a difference. Also that year, Discovery Channel  featured him in the “Crossings” documentary that traced his life history. In 2003, CNN TalkAsia described him as “a visionary from Taiwan who has put the island on the global IT map.”

Shih is recognized around the globe for his achievements in brand building, and for his unique models of management. He is frequently cited for his Smiling Curve, a business model that illustrates the vitality of the global IT industry. Upon his retirement from Acer in 2004, Shih co-established iD SoftCapital, an investment management and business consulting company.

Shih is also a former chairman and member of the board of trustees for the Asia Business Council, a top level body of Asian CEOs that speak for business and enhance Asia’s future growth.

In order to address the challenges of the new millennium, particularly the socio-economic disparity arising from the digital divide, APEC leaders pronounced their vision in 2000 in Brunei, which is to prepare their respective economies to benefit from the ICT revolution and use it as a passport to the fruits of globalization.

A tremendous amount of effort, however, still needs to be made to fulfill the Brunei goal, particularly the first phase aimed at tripling the number of internet users in the region. This is mainly due to the fact that in some APEC member-economies, most households and small and medium enterprises cannot afford computers and network equipment. Thus, millions of people still cannot take advantage of the learning and communication benefits of ICT.

In 2003, as its contribution to bridging the digital divide in the APEC region, Chinese Taipei proposed the ADOC (APEC Digital Opportunity Center) project. Since then, it has contributed $8 million to the first phase of the project which started in August 2004. With the cooperation of seven other member-economies, a total of 27 ADOC centers (four in the Philippines) have been established and digital opportunity has been provided to tens of thousands of people in the region over the past three years.

The new phase of the ADOC Project, dubbed “ADOC 2.0” was proposed by Shih. It will be a non-profit project, and places emphasis on encouraging the wide involvement of the private sector, NPOs and NGOs to create a joint public-private partnership platform among member economies. Its mission is to combine the efforts from APEC public and private sectors and put more efforts to enhance the capability and benefits of women, children and underprivileged group.

ADOC 2.0 is scheduled to commence in 2009.