The Outsourcing Week in Review: Thursday, May 27, 2021
Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Starting this week, employees from the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) industry are now included in the A4 priority group for the Philippine government’s COVID-19 vaccination program. This means that BPO workers will get inoculated ahead of the general population. Great news for the BPO sector – and the Philippine economy!
In further support of the declaration, the local government of Quezon City in Metro Manila signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), and Healthcare Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP) to ensure the prioritized vaccination of up to 67,000 BPO employees in the 29 participating firms in the city.
As the country increases its vaccination penetration every day, the Department of Health is has stated that Metro Manila and eight other areas will achieve herd immunity by November this year. To further accelerate the achievement of this target, Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero has urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to open 24/7 vaccination centers. Romero noted that the round-the-clock vaccine center operations “would address the problem of overcrowding and help guarantee the observance of health and security protocols.”
In a novel attempt to encourage hesitant people to get vaccinated, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is currently exploring offering private-sector benefits to the vaccinated population to incentivise voluntary COVID inoculation. Extra stamps at Starbucks, anyone?
In other developments, it has been announced that Glovax Biotech Corp.’s P7.5 billion Philippine-based COVID-19 vaccine plant project will only start its operations in October 2022. Seems like someone’s turning up late to the party… we hope… Meanwhile, the rates of new daily COVID cases for the Philippines continue to drop with cases now back down to below 5,000 per day – and the country awaits expected lockdown revisions by the IATF this Friday 28th May.
Sixteen Japanese firms invested a total of P1.8 billion worth of investments in the Philippine ecozones in the first four months of 2021 alone – making Japan the country’s number one source of foreign investments. Data released by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) revealed that these 16 projects are expected to generate over 1,000 jobs in the manufacturing, IT, and logistics sectors.
The pandemic significantly impacted the property sector last year. This year, we’re happy to report that it seems to be recovering. According to a report by real estate advisory firm PRIME Philippines, the areas of Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas are attracting investments amid the pandemic. These provinces have 365,000 square meters of total office space as of Q1, 40% of which are BPO companies. While Cavite accounts for the majority of the office demand, industrial ecozones are situated in Laguna, while Batangas takes pride in the largest amount of land.
If you were wondering about the future of ‘the office’, in an interview with The Philippine Tatler, Arch Offices’ managing partner and Booth & Partners CEO Carmen Booth stated that “co-working and serviced offices will thrive post-pandemic.” Booth remarked that companies will still need a physical office space after the pandemic, as “this trend of the abolishment of the office is more of a Western world luxury.”
The recent shift to the General Community Quarantine (GCQ), the loosest quarantine restriction, may allow the Philippine economy to recover “somewhere between about P2 billion to P30 billion,” said DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez. Lopez is also positive that the reopening of businesses could “bring back more jobs.” However, Barcelona-based think tank FocusEconomics thinks otherwise. The economic analysts recently slashed its Philippine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection from 7.3% to 6.8% in response to the current indicators.
n other BPO news, global outsourcing firm Accenture pledged US$5 million (P240-million) for the country’s urgent COVID-related response. According to Accenture country managing director Lito Tayag, the recent pledge “underscores our strong resolve and active commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of our people and fellow Filipinos during these challenging times.” This donation will certainly help with the country’s COVID-relief efforts, thank you Accenture!
Overseas, IT services company HCL Technologies has announced that it is hiring 1,000 engineering and technology professionals for its London, Greater London and Manchester offices. In addition, another Indian services provider Mphasis announced that its expanding to Mexico, Costa Rica, and Taiwan, since the company “has seen tremendous growth in its Hi-tech business.” These new centers are set to produce over 800 jobs in six months.
On the other side of the world, Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Hon. Audley Shaw said that the country’s outsourcing sector is now set to return to its pre-pandemic peak. Shaw noted that the country’s skilled talents and location “continue to encourage business expansion from current players and attract new interest.”
Onwards and upwards for outsourcing, and bring on the vaccinations!
Thursday, May 27, 2021
NEWS THIS WEEK
26 May 2021
- PH-Australia celebrates 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations – read article…
- PH-US to collaborate for improved vaccine manufacturing and distribution – read article…
- Cavite, Laguna, Batangas attract diverse industrial projects – read article…
- Co-working spaces expected to thrive post-pandemic – read article…
25 May 2021
- Lawmaker supports WFH for BPOs, amid amended CREATE rules – read article…
- Think tank slashes PH GDP projection – read article…
- BPO sector, QC gov’t sign MOA to inoculate 67K BPO workers – read article…
24 May 2021
- PH economy may recover under GCQ – DTI – read article…
- BPO employees now included in COVID-19 vaccine A4 priority group – read article…
- 24/7 vaccine operations proposed – read article…
- Jamaica’s BPO sector set to return to pre-COVID-19 peak – Shaw – read article…
21 May 2021
- Glovax to start P7.5bn vaccine plant operations in October 2022 – read article…
- Accenture pledges US$5mn for PH’s COVID-19 response – read article…
- HCL to hire 1k tech professionals in the UK – read article…
- DTI studying proposals for vaccination perks – read article…
20 May 2021
- DTI to submit request to ratify RCEP – read article…
- India BPO firm to set up new centers in Taiwan, Mexico, and Costa Rica – read article…
- Japan firms invest P1.8bn in ecozones from January to April 2021 – read article…
- NCR, nearby areas to achieve herd immunity by November – DOH – read article…
Independent
