BPO sector pulled in $2.65B in Q1

SOME $2.65 billion in foreign exchange from transactions related to the business process outsourcing sector flowed to the Philippines in the first quarter, up by 18 percent from the $2.24 billion recorded in the same period last year.

These BPO-related transactions involve computer and information services, as well as professional and technical services.

The robust growth of the BPO sector is credited mainly to the communication skills of Filipinos, lower cost of Filipino labor and the dire need of foreign firms to cut costs.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said that despite the substantial growth of the BPO sector over the last 10 years, the industry is poised to grow even more over the medium to long term.

The central bank said intensified promotion of the Philippines as a good provider of BPO services and further education of Filipino workers on the requirements of the sector would help the country generate more resources.

“The industry’s competitive advantage could further be enhanced through initiatives on educational reform and improved international visibility,” the BSP said in the report.

The BPO sector has been driving the growth of the country’s overall services sector, which in turn helped boost economic growth during the latest global crisis.

The growth of the services sector during the recent global financial crisis, which peaked in 2009, offset the decline in the revenue performance of the manufacturing sector.

Foreign exchange inflows from BPO-related transactions, together with remittances from overseas-based Filipinos and foreign portfolio investments, have helped beef up the country’s total reserves of foreign currencies, which are expected to hit at least  $70 billion by the end of the year. Michelle V. Remo