P143.4-M Cebu BPO project OKd for registration, incentives

The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the registration of a new business process outsourcing firm to be operated in Cebu by a unit of India-based digital health technology firm Optum Global solutions, making the local affiliate eligible for incentives from the government.

The investment promotion agency of the Department of Trade and Industry said it had given the stamp of approval for the planned P143.4-million facility of Optum Global Solutions (Philippines) Inc., a firm focused on healthcare information management services (HIMS).

“Soon to operate in Cebu City, the project is set to boost the growing HIMS sector in the Philippines, as the country is eyeing to be Asia’s hub for information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) services,” the BOI said in a statement.

The facility will provide IT-related services including coding, testing, maintenance and help desk troubleshooting support. Call center services such as inbound and outbound calls, as well as back office operations which include transaction processing, clinical process services, analytics services, trending and reporting will also be provided by the facility.

“The approval of this project in Cebu City proves that we are persistent in our efforts to enhance the growth of the country’s IT-BPM industry, particularly the HIMS sector,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said.

“We are further advancing the IT-BPM industry, and this is just the beginning of more investments being injected into the country’s economy. We are on track to making more investment opportunities happen in the Philippines,” he added.

The BOI said the contact center was expected to create 350 full-time direct and indirect jobs for Filipinos, with its employees enjoying a work-from-home arrangement.

“The proposed project will contribute to easing the poverty incidence in Cebu City, sitting at 26.9 percent last year,” the BOI said.

The investment promotion agency said that Optim had chosen the Philippines to host their new facility because of a competitive workforce equipped with high technical skills and level of English proficiency.

To date, Optum has seven registered projects under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority in various locations in Taguig, Quezon City, Cebu and Muntinlupa.

This latest investment is among the latest in the BOI’s approved pipeline which, from January to mid-November of this year, reached P644.4 billion, and expected to surpass last year’s record of P655 billion by year-end.