Phl economy seen resilient to corruption controversies

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the corruption controversies surrounding the Philippine government, the economy is still expected to soar further, in fact it is considered as one of the three emerging economies in Southeast Asia along with Indonesia and Vietnam.

Economist Bernardo Villegas told contact center decision makers not to underestimate the ASEAN, particularly these three countries, which are expected to lead the economic surge once the unified market is realized.

Villegas said the positive economic fundamentals of the Philippines as well as its rich talent pool and market base have so far kept the country resistant to the effects of the controversies.

Although the cost of doing business, manpower supply, foreign exchange concerns are the few challenges identified by the Business Process Management (BPM) and Information Technology sectors,  Villegas assured that the country will continue to lead the outsourcing market in the region, if not in the world.

He added that the high cost of power for instance in the Philippines is only a temporary problem as the big conglomerates are now investing on power generation, saying that in the next three to five years, the generating capacity will improve and electricity cost will dive reasonably.

Villegas reiterated his recommendation to international BPO players to strengthen its hold in the ASEAN region as early as now, with the Philippines being the most strategic location due to its high English literacy manpower pool.

In the next 20 years, with 600 million population, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will be strong enough to challenge China and India for economic supremacy in Asia.

The VIPs (Vietnam, India, Philippines) in the ASEAN will be the star countries in the next few years, and that despite any upcoming crisis or negative intervention, these countries have already proven their resilience over the years.

The major strength of the VIPs is their strong market base, Vietnam with 100 million,  Philippines' over a hundred million and 250 million population in Vietnam.

"When the world is having recession, those 'tigers' become 'pussycat' " he said adding that these tigers are highly dependent on export, unlike the VIP economies that are bolstered by local consumption.

The BPO sector alone, the industry is projecting a total job generation of over 900 million generating an estimate of US$16.3 billion revenue by 2016.

Thus, Villegas projected that the Asian economy, particularly in the Philippines will continue to gain strong performance over the years, despite political instability and controversies.

Villegas was one of the speakers during the 9th International Contact Center Conference and Expo (ICCCE) discussing on the economic projection, emphasizing the Philippines as the "new tiger in Asia". /JOB (FREEMAN)