AEC good for Phl contact center sector

MANILA, Philippines - The creation of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 is expected to benefit the Philippine contact center industry as it is seen to allow firms to expand operations, an economist said.

University of Asia and the Pacific economist Bernardo Villegas said during the International Contact Center Conference and Expo (ICCCE), which opened Thursday in Cebu, the ASEAN economic integration would result in the “regionalization of business,” where local ventures will be replicated or extended elsewhere.

“Operations based in the Philippines can only grow due to the country’s strategic location and young population, among other factors,” Villegas said.

The AEC which will be established by December 2015, will transform the ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labor as well as capital.

Villegas said the anticipated resurgence of the ASEAN to be led by Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines will be different from the growth of the Asian tigers such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea seen in the 1990s.

He noted that while Asian tigers have measly populations, little natural resources, and strong dependence on exports, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are endowed with rich natural resources and have big domestic markets, making them relatively less susceptible to global downturns.

TJ Singh, vice president for research of Gartner said in the same event that as the Philippines is rich in natural resources and has a big market and as the industry shifts from mere offshoring to a global delivery network model, outsourcing is expected to stay here.

The Philippines’ contact center industry has already developed a niche in the global market and it should extend this niche by further developing its huge and young pool of potential workers, he said.

For the contact center industry to expand, Villegas said it is crucial to develop the country’s educated, English-speaking workforce, as it is one of the key ingredients for the industry’s high growth rate.

He also said there is a need to continue investments in education and infrastructure to seize the opportunity from global markets.

The ICCCE is the flagship event of CCAP, which is composed of more than 90 global and local contact center companies operating in the Philippines.

In 2012, the contact center industry grew by 19 percent and generated $8.9 billion worth of revenues.