Ayala forms unit for skills training

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala Corp. has formed a new subsidiary, LiveIt Global Services Management, which will provide skills training and resources to help people find employment.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Ayala said the new company will provide services geared towards the promotion of service management such as training and instruction on developing skills desirable for employment in information and technology, business process outsourcing (BPO), hotels, restaurants, banking, accounting and similar sectors.

LiveIt Investments Ltd., the holding company for the Ayala Group’s investments in the BPO industry, has four investee companies that are leaders in their respective sectors. These include Stream Global Services (a top global call center company), Integreon (the leading integrated global provider of knowledge process outsourcing services), Affinity Express (a leader in the emerging outsourced graphics and creative services sector), and HRMall (a leading local provider of outsourced HR services locally).

It expects to swing to profitability next year following years of consecutive losses due to the continued expansion of its BPO portfolio.

LiveIt Investments trimmed its losses last year to $18 million from $32 million in 2010 as revenues rose 16 percent to $318 million.