US-based KPO service center opens in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - US based knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) EXL Service recently entered Cebu by setting up 500-seat facility to be filled up this year.

The Cebu EXL Service Phils., Inc., delivery center is the third facility of the Nasdaq-listed outsourcing firm, since it opened its first site in the Philippines in Manila in 2008.

In an interview with  EXL vice chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Rohit Kapoor, he said that the Philippines is the fastest growing site for the company in Asia.

EXL is a KPO specializing in healthcare, insurance, finance, accounting, and travel. It has facilities in other Asian countries like India and Malaysia. In the Philippines, it has a total of over 2,000 employees excluding the newly opened Cebu facility.

Since its opening last month, EXL Cebu has already hired around 200 employees, of which 160  are medical professionals or nurses and doctors, the rest are accountants and insurance experts.

Unlike the traditional outsourcing firm, EXL provides opportunities for registered nurses who are working in other industries or even in call center firms to work within their profession through the virtual hospital, or clinic set-up.

These medical professionals will help EXL's clients like big insurance firms in the US, rendering clinical analysis, utilization review, and disease management, among others.

The Cebu facility is one of the first occupants of the newly built "The Link" building at the Cebu IT Park.

"Cebu is an ideal place [for expansion]. It has good trained workforce, rich availability of healthcare professionals, and good infrastructure," Kapoor said during the EXL's formal launching held Thursday.

He added that the Philippines in general is a great country for outsourcing, not only for its good quality supply of workforce, but also due to its stable currency compared to other Asian countries, as well as attractive tax holiday offer, and other advantages.

In terms of employment count, EXL is growing at a rate of 30 percent to 40 percent per year.

EXL Service outsourcing firm is a publicly-listed company with market capitalization of close to a billion dollars. this year, the company targets to hit US$500 million.

With a total of over 21 thousand employees worldwide and present in seven countries, EXL Service considers the Philippines as its growth area, with plans to further expand its facilities all over the country including its plan to open a delivery center in Davao, and to further expand in Cebu and Manila, Kapoor said. /JOB (FREEMAN)