RP to participate in CeBIT Australia

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines is participating again in the three-day CeBIT Australia Conference, the biggest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) trade exhibit in Sydney, Australia , which opens today, May 24.

According to a statement, the Philippine team will have a pavilion at the CeBIT exhibition floor inside the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Center at Darling Harbour. The Philippines joined as an exhibitor last year and was able to bring home more than US$ 1 million worth of deals and contracts.

CeBIT Australia , now on its fourth year, had over 1, 500 exhibitors with a visitor count of over 29, 000 last year.

Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) executive director of external affairs Martin Crisostomo said the Philippine delegation will also be staging a Philippine IT-BPO forum at the same venue on the second day of the conference wherein targeted guests have to come to witness presentations on the Philippine BPO and to network with the delegation members.

According to the 2009 Global Services/Tholons Top 50 Emerging Outsourcing Cities Report, the Philippines’ BPO industry has remained at second pace, behind India, cornering 15-percent of the offshore BPO market.

BPAP chief executive officer Oscar Sañez said in a report that the BPO sector is poised for a double digit growth in the coming years.

He said the Philippines aims to earn US$ 12-billion in revenue from the industry this year and employ 600,000 to 700,000. Cebu has been challenged to serve at least 20-percent of the government’s target.

Meanwhile, the 22-member Philippine delegation is led by the BPAP’s Sañez and Crisostomo, Commission of ICT Commissioner Mon Ibrahim, Department of Trade and Industry Sydney Trade Representative Michel Sanchez and Philippine Software Industry Association president Beng Coronel.

Among the participating companies are leading players of the country’s IT-BPO industry such as Delegait, Sencor, Pointwest, Tsukiden, American Data Exchange, Integra, i-Wave, DTSI, Globe and PLDT.