MANILA, Philippines - Officials of different business process outsourcing (BPO) companies operating in the country believe more multinational companies are likely to set up shop in the Philippines, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

The “survey on information technology and IT-enabled services for 2007 and 2008 conducted by the BSP showed more companies engaged in IT are expected to take advantage of lower costs in cheaper locations, including the Philippines.

“Top officials of different outsourcing companies and associations remained bullish on the prospects of the industry, citing that multinational firms are likely to outsource to cheaper locations like the Philippines to trim down costs,” the survey stated.

The survey showed that the Philippine IT and IT-enabled service industry remained resilient amid the global financial crisis, as shown by the results of the 2007-2008 BSP survey on the industry. 

The total revenue of the industry grew at a rapid double-digit rate of 44.8% to $6.3 billion in 2008 from $4.4 billion in 2007.

“The industry continued to grow at a rapid double-digit rate of 44.8%, although this was slightly lower than the 50.3% growth in 2007,” the BSP added.

IT-enabled services exports rose 51.5% to reach $5.3 billion in 2008 from $3.5 billion in 2007. Export earnings comprised about four-fifths of total industry revenues in 2008 and 2007. All sub-sectors reported that more than 70% of their revenues were sourced from exports, with the animation sub-sector having the highest export-to-revenue ratio of 95.8% in 2008.

Total equity investments in the industry amounted to $2 billion as of end-2008. Of the total amount, about 93.3% or $1.8 billion represented foreign equity participation.

More than half or 54% of the foreign equity investments amounting to $986 million in 2008 and 54.2% amounting to $445 million in 2007 were accounted for by American investors while Japanese investors cornered a 20% stake.

Employment in the IT and IT-enabled services industry jumped 30.8% to reach 355,135 persons in 2008 from the 271,556 employment level in 2007. Likewise, total compensation paid by the industry increased 29.7% to $2.8 billion from $2.1 billion.

The survey covered a total of 648 companies in 2008 from 624 in 2007. Survey results were based on an overall response rate of 59.9% and 55% in 2008 and 2007, respectively. Respondents included companies engaged in the operation of call centers, medical and legal transcription, animation, software development and other BPO activities. 

These companies represented the different IT and IT-enabled service industry associations as well as those registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-attached agencies namely, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Board of Investments (BOI).