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THE
business-process outsourcing (BPO) companies that
generated revenues of $3 billion last year were seen to
benefit from the global slowdown and post a surge in
revenues seen reaching at least $10 billion this year.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the
global slowdown has forced corporations around the world
to cut costs and shift the burden to BPOs.
As a
result, the BPO industry could prove to be the
mitigating factor to the slowdown in merchandise
imports.
As major
markets moderate their output, exporting emerging
markets like the Philippines have to compensate for it
by shifting emphasis on other growth sectors like the
BPOs.
“BPO is
the possible mitigant to the drop in merchandise export.
The most recent prognosis continues to be bullish, and
the latest projected growth is a high of 70-percent
growth in revenue for 2008,” Deputy BSP Governor Diwa
Guinigundo said over the weekend.
He said
it was normal for businesses to wind down their
operations a bit during stressful times and to cut costs
as their earnings are under threat.
“BPOs
help companies cut costs,” Guinigundo said. “That means
even without the threat of a downturn, competition also
creates the continuous pressure to outsource to reduce
costs,” he said.
BPOs
paid total compensation of P26.4 billion in 2004 and
P42.4 billion in 2005 with revenues topping $1.8 billion
in 2004 and reaching $2 billion the following year.
BPO
employment surged forward by 46 percent from 94,488 jobs
in 2004 to 138,000 the following year, based on a
baseline BSP survey.
BPO
firms paid employees a total P26.4 billion in 2004 and
P42.4 billion by 2005.
BPO
revenues totaled $1.8 billion and hit $2 billion the
following year. |
