Philippines to Launch National Broadband Plan this June
June 13 -In celebration of the National ICT month 2017, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will unveil its National Broadband Plan (NBP), reintroduce the free wi-fi project called Pipol Konek and launch the National Government Portal on 23 June. The launching is directed towards fast and efficient delivery of government services to citizens throughout the country.
NBP provides the blueprint for a broadband infrastructure that will interconnect government offices across the country and enable citizens to gain access to telecommunication services, especially in remote areas. Pipol Konek will now have a bigger target and the government portal or gov.ph will now serve as a single website for all government information, transactions and services.
IT-BPO Industry Continues to Attract Foreign Investors
June 14 – More foreign firms from countries like China, Qatar, Mexico, Israel, the United Kingdom and Canada are considering invest into the IT-BPO industry in the Philippines, according to latest reports.
According to Rick Santos, the chairman and CEO of Santos Knight Frank, a property firm, the country remains as the most attractive inbound investment destination in the region for IT-BPO companies, which are eager to capitalize on the country’s favorable demographics, strong dollar, competitive labor cost and continuous infrastructure development. These upcoming developments are also expected to further drive real estate growth in secondary cities outside Metro Manila, Santos said.
ICC Asks Government for Benefits for Countryside BPO Investors
June 15 – The Innovation Council of Cebu (ICC) through its President Michael Cubos, said that if the removal of tax incentives for business process outsourcing (BPO) firms cannot be avoided, the least that the government should do is to grant benefits to companies that will set up offices in the countryside.
Cubos, who owns homegrown Performance 360 Call Center and BPO Services, is also an advocate of desaturating the metropolitan area and bringing IT-BPM jobs to the rest of the province. He made the appeal as most BPO companies in the country have aired apprehension over the government’s proposal to cut tax perks.
KPO Sector Demands More STEM Graduates – Accenture
June 16 – To address demand for knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) talent, the Philippines needs to produce more graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). According to Bhaskar Ghosh, Accenture Technology Services group chief executive, workers need to scale up their skills in order to meet the requirements of the new information technology.
Ghosh said that Accenture has trained more than 100,000 people in new IT services in the past 18 months. In the Philippines, Accenture technology lead Ambe Tierro said the company is now mostly hiring STEM graduates who will support its operations here.
Demand for BPO-friendly Buildings Remains High – Leechiu
June 16 – Leases for strategically located buildings continue to be rapidly taken up by business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, and, more recently, by online gaming firms, a study by Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) has revealed.
The same report noted that office vacancy rates are hovering at four percent in the Ortigas-Pasig-Mandaluyong area. For the rest of Metro Manila, office space, like Ortigas Technopoint Two, which is set to be completed in the last quarter of 2017, are also experiencing demand. LPC CEO David Leechiu disclosed that there is an unprecedented level of pre-commitments at 500,000 square meters for the Metro Manila office market alone.
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