THE country’s oldest conglomerate Ayala Corp. is investing in new high-growth sectors and has identified the offshore and outsourcing (O&O) market as an area with potential for significant growth.

At the sidelines of the company’s annual stockholders meeting Friday, chairman and chief executive Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said a number of their future investments will be carried out by LiveIt Solutions Inc., the group’s holding company in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

Citing a study by McKinsey, Ayala said the global O&O market will grow from $46 billion in 2005 to $130 billion in 2010, and that the Philippines can significantly grow its share of global outsourcing market from 5 percent to 10 percent in the next few years given the country’s many natural competitive advantages in this space.

“The Philippine O&O revenues grew by over 50 percent to $5 billion in 2007 and has the potential to hit $13 billion by 2010,” he said.

LiveIt has been an aggressive player in the BPO sector, having invested $60 million last year, raising its cumulative investments in the sector to $122 million.

Its three investee companies are eTelecare, a leading provider of customer care BPO services; Integreon, a leading providers of knowledge process outsourcing services in the legal and financial sectors; and Affinity Express, a major player in high-volume graphics and design solutions.

“The macro environment is very positive. Our focus this year is to continue working on developing our operations through acquisitions and organic growth,” said LiveIt chief executive Alfredo I. Ayala.

Meanwhile, the Ayala group said it was allocating P55.3 billion in capital investments this year, the highest by far in the history of the company. Last year, the company’s actual capital spending amounted to P39.1 billion.

Ayala said a substantial part of the capex is allocated to property unit Ayala Land; Globe’s expansion of cellular network and broadband capacities; and continued improvement and expansion of Manila Water’s water distribution network.

“Our electronics subsidiary, Integrated Microelectronics Inc. is also expanding and building a regional manufacturing and sales footprint,” he said.

He said funding for the capex is spread out on the balance sheets of the group’s units.

“Funding really would come from variety of cash flows and borrowings of each company,” he said.

In 2007, Ayala Corp. posted a net income of P16.2 billion and revenues of P78.7 billion.

THE Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) said its net income for 2007 grew 95 percent to P1.7 billion from P872 million a year earlier as sales improved to nearly 50 percent.

Pepsi, property firms last week’s top gainers

PEPSI-COLA Products Philippines Inc., which had its market debut on February 1 on the first board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), closed the week ended April 4 at P3.25 after hitting P3.30, its highest since February 20, and dropping to a low of P3.15.

THE country’s oldest conglomerate Ayala Corp. is investing in new high-growth sectors and has identified the offshore and outsourcing (O&O) market as an area with potential for significant growth.

LED by an increase in revenues generated from its natural gas-fired power plants, Lopez-managed First Gen Corp. (First Gen) reported Friday that its net income increased by 14 percent to $104.7 million last year compared to the previous year.

 n LAST week: The PSE index fluctuated a lot last week as it registered both gains and losses. But at the end of Friday’s trading, the index managed a 27.02-point gain or .91-percent up week on week to close at 2,983.04.

THERE’S talk Sumitomo Corp. is looking at lakeside property in Taguig to put up an industrial park.