BOI greenlights US health-care firm’s P858-M Davao project

MANILA  -The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the P858-million project of the local unit of the American digital health technology firm Optum Inc. (UHG) in Davao, a project seen creating 1,500 additional jobs in the country.

The BOI said on Friday that the new project by Optum Global Solutions (Philippines) Inc. will provide health-care information management services (HIMS), and will be based in the Uprise Building-C in Davao City.

It will serve as an information technology hub, a call center, and will house back-office operations services, primarily targeting overseas markets.

“The government’s aggressive investment promotion strategy has been steadily attracting global industry players. Optum Global Solutions, a big player in the United States, has once again chosen the Philippines to expand their enterprise,” said Ceferino Rodolfo, trade undersecretary and BOI managing head said in a statement.

“This development aligns with our mission to generate high-quality job opportunities for Filipinos through strategic investments,” he added.

Further, Rodolfo highlighted the transformative nature of the HIMS sector in the Philippines, citing that this latest investment highlights the Philippines’ competence in providing the necessary infrastructure and talents for the industry.

“This sector’s evolution enables us to expand our capabilities, supporting the entire health-care journey of patients with complex, digitalized end-to-end customer experience services,” he said.

Back in December of last year, Optum Global Solutions (Philippines) Inc., opened a new office in Makati City, expanding their footprint in the Philippines with this fifth office.

The company said the new office was put up to provide for the company’s fast-growing workforce, which numbers over 21,000 employees to date.

The BOI also approved in November last year the company’s P143.4-million facility in Cebu, which now provides IT-related services including coding, testing, maintenance and help desk troubleshooting support.

Aside from this latest project in Davao and the facility in Cebu, the company has seven other registered projects under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority in various locations in Taguig, Quezon City, Cebu and Muntinlupa.