US firm eyes BPO presence in country

MANILA, Philippines — US information technology (IT) firm Mphasis Corp. plans to establish business process outsourcing (BPO) operations in the country, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

In a statement, the DTI said the US company has expressed interest to invest in the Philippines for high-value BPO services, with an initial headcount of 1,500 to 2,000 IT call center jobs.

The company’s plans were discussed during the recent meeting of Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez with Mphasis chief executive officer Nitin Rakesh and Indranil Roy, industry solutions group senior vice president and global head at Mphasis.

According to Roy, a number of their clients, which are major American banks and insurance companies, have advised them to consider the Philippines for their operations given the local talent pool’s service and skill sets.

As a client-centric organization, Mphasis is bent on accommodating its clients’ wishes, including setting up operations in the Philippines.

Mphasis, which is a subsidiary of New York-based financial giant Blackstone Group, provides IT services to banking and finance, healthcare, telecommunication, logistics and other high-tech industries.

The firm has IT-BPO facilities in India, Mexico, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and employs around 40,000.

For his part, Lopez cited the advantages of the Philippines as a destination for IT services.

“Our country is increasing its capacity to become a global player in IT-enabled services through the provision of analytical and AI (artificial intelligence) skills development, competitive enabling environment, and cost efficiencies. This, thereby, ensures that investors can profitably serve international and fast-growing regional markets,” he said.

Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic, he said the country’s IT-business process management sector did not lay off workers.

He also said sourcing local talent would not be a problem as the country has a workforce of 49 million,  and generates 800,000 graduates annually, with 30 percent coming from the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics field.

Board of Investments (BOI) managing head and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the BOI, which has a partnership with the Commission on Higher Education, can link Mphasis with education institutions to customize the curriculum and develop talent that meet the company’s needs.

He said the firm could also tap returning overseas Filipino workers who have an advantage in terms of experience with new knowledge and skills acquired from working abroad.

Rodolfo likewise cited the advantages under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, which introduced changes to the incentives system.

“Our continued efforts to upskill our workforce and liberalize our industries through major economic reforms under President Duterte’s guidance and leadership, partnered with our strong economic fundamentals, have proven our capability to position the Philippines as an ideal investment hub in Southeast Asia. We look forward to how the next generation of leaders can further build on these successes,” Lopez said.