IT-enabled industries fuel economic growth in Cebu - Visayas - NEDA

The Philippines (PIA) — The Information Technology (IT)-enabled industry particularly business process outsourcing (BPO), propelled the economic growth of Central Visayas in 2010 and continues to do so to date.

Other growth drivers of the region’s economy last year include construction and real estate, tourism, retail trade and the banking sector.

This was according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA-7) report which was presented during the recent full council meeting of the Central Visayas Regional Development Council held in the Montebello Garden Hotel, in Mabolo, Cebu City .

Said report indicated that the BPO industry in the region has been steadily expanding over the years and today, it remains ‘one of the biggest’ generator of investments and employment in Central Visayas.

Aside from the entry of new players in the BPO industry, 2010 also saw the expansion of existing companies such as Aegis People Support, Epson, Teletech, Convergys, Qualfon, Accenture and Exist Global, the report said.

Last year, the volume of business and the number of corporate clients served by IT and BPO companies have increased. Many US-based companies, including small and medium scale, have switched to outsourcing their operations to cut down on operational costs.

The 2010 regional economic situationer (RES) further reports that the expansion of the IT, IT-enabled industry and BPO operations in the region have resulted to a higher demand for office space.

This has paved the way for more investments in real estate, with investors taking advantage of such growing demand by constructing medium to high rise buildings to accommodate BPO companies.

Consequently, pointed out the NEDA 7 report, as much as 60 to a 100 percent increase were posted in industry employment.