BPO sector targets $13-B revenue this year

MANILA, Philippines - The business process outsourcing (BPO) sector is aiming for a 19-percent rise in its revenues this year on the back of an expected increase in demand for outsourcing services.

“Our target for revenues this year is $13 billion, which is an additional $2 billion from last year,” said Martin Crisostomo, executive director for external affairs of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP).

Revenues of the BPO sector, he said, reached $10.9 billion last year.

He said the group expects higher revenues this year as demand for services both in the voice and non-voice subsectors, increase with companies seeking to become more competitive and to focus on their core operations.

“Outsourcing is a factor that makes businesses more competitive. It (outsourcing) is becoming part of the business model,” he said.

He said he expects the country’s voice subsector to grow and to drive higher revenues this year as the Philippines remains a preferred customer care provider given the proficiency of many Filipinos in English.

The country’s non-voice subsector, he added, is seen to expand this year with more companies in need of new services involving complex skills such as financial services or accounting, health services information management and software development.

He noted that as many analysts also project global demand for BPO services to double in the next few years, revenues are projected to reach $25 billion by 2016.

He said that while the BPAP is optimistic of growth in revenues given rising demand for BPO services, it is watchful of developments in relation to a pending US bill that would discourage outsourcing.

“Right now, as it is, we are maintaining our projections but we continue to monitor developments. We are not taking it for granted,” he stressed.