Aegis PeopleSupport unveils 12-story facility at Asiatown

CEBU, Philippines - One of the largest Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms, Aegis PeopleSupport has opened up its P2 billion building facility in Cebu, re-enforcing its commitment to stay in business in the Philippines for long term.

The 12-story “Aegis Tower Cebu,” located at the Cebu Asiatown IT Park, is the first building built by the company.

The building will house the over 4,000 workers in Cebu, while it also accommodates its growing operations here, as the company sees to hire another 2,000 more workers as soon as the phase II of its building will be completed, said Rajiv Ahuja Aegis president for ANZ and ASEAN.

The 3,000-seat BPO building offers its employees a favorable environment with the use of natural light and the availability of a rooftop garden with a water feature and multi-level FSC-certified wood decking.

Although the company expressed confidence of its Philippine operation, saying the Philippines plays a vital role in its global operation, Aegis global chief executive officer (CEO) Aparup Sengupta said the government should address the drying up of talents in the country.

Sengupta said that because of the scarcity of manpower pool in the metro cities around the country, Aegis is currently scouting areas outside of metro cities, for its expansion plan.

The company which currently employs close to 12,000 people in its Manila, Baguio and Cebu operation, aims at reaching to 15,000 headcount by year-end.

Aegis has emerged as one of the fastest-growing companies in the world. Sengupta revealed that the company aims at becoming a US$1 billion company, crossing the 60,000 market oin headcount by March 2012.

“The Philippine market plays a big part in helping us achieve our goals,” he said in a press conference following the formal inauguration of the Aegis Tower Cebu.

Known for its aggressive acquisition strategy, Aegis has expanded its global footprint through the acquisition of UCMS in Australia, Actionline in Argentina, among others, and more recently, with a joint venture with Saudi Telecom Company, one of the largest telecommunication companies in the world.

Aegis serves a spectrum of industries such as banking, financial services, insurance, telecom, healthcare, travel and hospitality, consumer goods, retail and technology.

The company also specializes in tailor-made solutions that cover the entire field of customer and business experiences—across business processing, technology, and shared services. It also offers customized engagement models to further facilitate the ease of doing business.

Aegis is wholly owned by the Essar Group, a US$17 billion conglomerate, headquartered in India.— (FREEMAN)