UK firms to set up shop in RP

Investments from the United Kingdom are entering the country as a business process outsourcing (BPO) company and an engineering company are set to open while two more firms are looking at entering the Philippines.

“Atkins will formally open in September, while two other companies are looking at investing here,” Peter Beckingham, British Ambassador to the Philippines said in an interview.

“I cannot discuss the details of the potential investments but if it pushes through one of it is bigger than Atkins,” he added.

According to Beckingham, Atkins is a multinational engineering and design consultancy which does a lot of work for countries in the Middle East.

“With the entry of Atkins, Filipino engineers will be given the chance to work on projects in the Middle East without leaving the country,” he said. “This can even serve as a stepping stone for engineers who would like to work overseas.”

Beckingham did not say how much Atkins is investing in the country saying only that the company will employ 25,000 to 30,000 once it is fully operational.

Aside from providing employment opportunities, Beckingham said Atkins will give training for Filipino engineers.

Atkins is involved in the planning, design and enabling of complex capital projects. It is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK, the largest multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe and the world’s fifth largest design firm.

Meanwhile, another English firm Balfour Beatty is opening a training center for engineers in the electricity and power sector.

Balfour Beatty is a world-class engineering, construction, services and investment business. It creates and cares for essential assets: hospitals, schools, road, rail, utility systems and major structures.

Balfour Beatty employs nearly 35,000 people, who deliver projects that directly improve lives and communities – from hospitals to highways, from railways to water supply systems, schools to power generation and transmission.

Meanwhile, Beckingham disclosed that many UK based firms are interested in the country’s power sector.

“There are a lot of companies that would like to come in the power sector specifically in the alternative power sector,” Beckingham noted.

Another sector the British are interested in is the retail sector specifically the consumer goods area.