Local BPO Links to US May be Cause for Economic Doom and Gloom

Posted on November 27th, 2008. Written by Rico.

What technology giveth, something else may take away. The booming IT sector was ready to supply the demand for cheaper contact center and BPO labor. But apparently since these two industries are so tied to the US economy, the American recession-to-be may affect the Philippines badly:

Often described as the sick man of Asia, the Philippines appears to be walking an economic tightrope again. Its currency has fallen sharply against the US dollar from a high of P44:US$1 to P50:US$1, a fall of 13.6 percent since August. Three of the pillars of its economy – call centers, electronics exports and inward remittances — are all deeply exposed to the US economy, which is going into the tank.

Oh well, at least not everyone’s being pessimistic, with long-time BPO player eTelecare providing an ounce of optimism and international expansion:

“No one in my company has been laid off because of the financial crisis,” [human-resource officer Simeon Mari Sillona] said. “So despite what we’ve been reading, things are actually looking up for us.”

His company, the Nasdaq-listed eTelecare Global Solutions, is one of the leading outsourcing companies in the Philippines, with top US clients such as AT&T, Sprint and Dell. Although the company posted a 67 percent decline in profits in the third quarter, it was mainly due to expenses for its expansion. The company, for instance, has put up eTelecare Nicaragua and is looking to expand to other Latin American countries.

All I can say is, if the US economy can affect the entire relatively easily, shouldn’t the US government do a better job of managing it properly? Being a leader has its perks—and definite responsibilities!

Thanks for the link Manolo!

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 27th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Rico

Rico Mossesgeld is the founding editor of Technograph. Learn more about him at rico.mossesgeld.com/about.

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