The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, January 13, 2021

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THE WEEK IN REVIEW

The Philippine economy is already showing signs of “positive” growth in the first three months of 2021, said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno.  He added that the agency’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth target of 6.5 to 7.5% is “easily attainable,” due to the easing of lockdown restrictions, improvements in the healthcare system, and everyone’s full cooperation. The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is also looking forward to an improved stock market this year and is expecting around 10 companies to raise funds through initial public offerings (IPO) – which is healthy for PSE.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort supported the New Year optimism, forecasting a six to seven per cent economic growth this year. According to Ricafort, some factors that can contribute to the boosting of the country’s economy include the continued easing of quarantine measures, along with the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector continues to be a strong economic buoy and provider of jobs despite the pandemic. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) identified the BPO industry, together with the health and construction sectors as resilient job providers. DOLE Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said in-demand jobs under the BPO sector are information technology (IT), customer service representatives, programmers, encoders as well as app and game developers. With the strong hiring signals, Leechiu Property Consultants Inc. CEO David Leechiu is optimistic that the office space segment will recover this year. Leechiu added that the segment will remain as a relevant section of the real estate industry this 2021.

Senator Francis Tolentino is urging the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and Board of Investments (BoI) to invest in the establishment of pharmaceutical manufacturing zones in the country. Tolentino recently filed Senate Resolution 580 to further develop the country’s medical industry to spur investments. The Senator cited a study showing that the Philippines is one of the biggest pharmaceutical markets in Southeast Asia, next only to Indonesia and Thailand.

In October 2020, the Philippines’ Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) reached its six-month low, decreasing 24.5% from a year earlier. In efforts to generate more FDI, the newly formed Philippine Business Council-Qatar (PBC-Q) believes that a financial technology (fintech) collaboration between the Philippines and Qatar should prove a success, provide an influx of Qatari foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country, and generate demand for more highly-skilled fintech jobs.

Proponents of the manufacturing-outsourcing sector are keeping a close eye on American technology corporation Intel this week as it reportedly considers outsourcing its chip manufacturing to Apple supplier TSMC due to the successive delays in its in-house production. CEO Bob Swan has stated that he will announce the company’s production and outsourcing plans on January 21.

In other BPO news, France-based information technology (IT) firm Atos is in talks to acquire New-York listed B2B corporation DXC Technology. Atos recently confirmed bidding $10 billion for DXC (a company formed from the merger of Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services), as Atos makes a move to become be the leading player in the IT services market.  Also, American professional services provider Genpact recently acquired data engineering and data-led digital transformation services firm Enquero for an undisclosed sum. Genpact CEO ‘Tiger’ Tyagarajan said the acquisition will help the company scale and increase the depth of its data and analytics capabilities.

The recently concluded HR Asia Awards recognized Microsoft Philippines and Everise as two of the ‘Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2020.’ HR Asia’s ‘Best Companies to Work for in Asia’ awards is held annually across 11 markets throughout the region.

“[We] are committed to continue providing our people with an inclusive workplace and community that lives up to our values, and empowers them to be their best, most authentic selves every day,” said Jan Philippe Tanchi, Human Resources Director of Microsoft Philippines.

Everise Founder and CEO Sudhir Agarwal said, “This award is proof that our commitment to our values — being people first, celebrating diversity, and incubating innovation — can result in a winning culture…”

For a quick POGO update, the gambling operators are off the hook for their recent eye-watering tax hike – for now. The Supreme Court (SC) has blocked the imposition of a five per cent franchise tax on the gross bets from the operations of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) under the Bayanihan 2 Law through a temporary restraining order (TRO). The TRO was issued based on the petition by 14-foreign-based POGOs which are all holders of gaming licenses issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR). Stay tuned for the next episode of the POGO telenovela…

>>> Got any burning news? Share your industry hot scoops and company press releases with Inside Outsourcing – the world’s leading outsourcing news hub.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

NEWS THIS WEEK

12 January 2021

• Intel considering to outsource its chip production – read article…
• Fintech collaboration could spur Qatar FDI to PH – read article…
• PH’s October FDI reaches six-month low – read article…

11 January 2021

• BPO sector provides in-demand jobs amid pandemic – read article…
• Atos to possibly acquire DXC Technology this year – read article…
• PH economy showing signs of “positive” growth in Q1 – BSP – read article…

8 January 2021

• Microsoft Philippines named one of the ‘Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2020’ – read article…
• World Bank downgrades global economy outlook – read article…
• Office space segment to recover this year – Leechiu – read article…
• SC blocks higher POGO taxes – read article…

7 January 2021

• Up to 7.5% 2022 GDP growth target ‘easily attainable’ – Diokno – read article…
• Everise wins HR Asia’s Best Place to Work Award for the second time – read article…
• Genpact acquires Enquero for undisclosed sum – read article…
• Vaccine deployment, lockdown easing, to boost PH growth – read article…

6 January 2021

• New car import taxes added to help local players – read article…
• DOST announces R&D focus in 2021 – read article…
• PEZA, BOI urged to expedite pharmaceutical zones – read article…
• PSE remains optimistic, sees raised stock offerings this year – read article…