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February 21, 2013

BPO Sector in The Philippines Interests Swedish Firms

By Shankar Pandiath, TMCnet Contributor

Given the current state of the economy, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has become a way out for most developed countries to cut rising costs.

Swedish companies are now interested in investing in this sector, which is growing by leaps and bounds in the conducive environment of The Philippines. President Aquino's anti-corruption drive to clean up the country’s system is being seen by the international community with great interest.


A few years ago, Sweden wasn’t much interested in the Philippines, bringing up the rear at the bottom of the list of countries Sweden was interested in. Comparatively, there are about 350 Swedish companies in Singapore, and about 120 in Malaysia. Thailand has about 70-80 of its own.

In The Philippines, the number of Swedish companies is at a modest 35.

Earlier this month, a Swedish delegation comprising 20 businessmen and 12 companies discussed possible trade and investment opportunities in The Philippines. Companies exploring the Philippines included Clean Motion, Electrolux, Ikano, Volvo, Atlas Copco and Ericsson (News - Alert), among others.

On Wednesday, February 20, at a trade briefing for the Swedish delegation in Makati City, Carl Malmqvist, manager of the Malaysia office at Business Sweden (the Swedish Trade and Invest Council), said there will definitely be an increase in the number of Swedish companies planning to erect offices in The Philippines in the next five years, as the BPO is being seen as a growth sector.

He added that when compared to other ASEAN countries, The Philippines is more service-oriented, unlike the others who are more industry-oriented and hence have a clear advantage.

Except for Ericsson, no one knew about The Philippines just a few years ago, but that’s all about to change. He emphasized that the country would be the place where they would see the most growth in SMEs, and that the forecasts definitely predict better times for BPO industries in the nation.

Director of the International Marketing Department, Angelica Macayas, at the Board of Investment (BOI), said that approved investments from Sweden had been very minimal in recent years. “From 2006 to 2012, approved Swedish investments totaled only P168.4 million,” she said.

Trade Undersecretary, Adrian Cristobal  Jr., added that The Philippines is currently being considered one of the most competitive areas for manufacturing, given the unfortunate events in Japan, flooding in Thailand and the rising costs in China and Vietnam.

Delhi, India was recently overtaken by Manila as the third most preferred BPO destination. According to the latest research and forecasts by outsource2Philippines and Everest Group, revenue from the call center industry in The Philippines is expected to reach $14.7 billion by year 2016.

The sector by then would be providing employment to about 862,000 people.




Edited by Braden Becker


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