ILOILO City – This southern city is projected to become the third biggest hub for business process outsourcing (BPO) in the country by 2025.
According to Mayor Jerry Treñas, this was the projection of CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, should more infrastructures for BPOs be constructed here to attract more players in such industry.
“We will overtake some cities,” said Treñas.
CBRE’s country head Jie Espinosa was among those from the business sector who joined yesterday morning’s What’s Up Western Visayas Conference at Courtyard by Marriot Iloilo – part of the Iloilo Business Week spearheaded by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc.(PCCI) – Iloilo Chapter.
Treñas said Iloilo has become very attractive to BPOs. The challenge, however, is how to further increase its number of BPO-suitable buildings, and this is where the CBRE will come in.
“Kon mag-sige sige na ang mga projects by 2025 we will be the third biggest BPO (hub) in the Philippines,” said Treñas.
The city mayor also pointed out that some existing business establishments are also expanding and will have more BPO spaces like Robinson’s Place, Ayala (Atria Park District), Megaworld (Iloilo Business Park), and SM City Iloilo.
Current data from the city government’s Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion (LEDIP) showed around 102 BPO companies doing business in Iloilo City; they are employing over 36,000 individuals.
In terms of manpower, Treñas said, the city has enough and when it comes to power or electricity, the distribution utility here – MORE Electric and Power Corporation – has a stable supply and its power rates among the lowest in the country.
“Ang (power) rates naton very attractive so Iloilo is really poised to get more BPO companies… We will continue to have a very positive growth in so far as BPOs are concerned,” he added.
Treñas said the city government will continue to help out the business sector as it looks forward for a positive “domino effect” in terms of employment opportunities for the Ilonggos.
“Wery important ang employment. Every year we have graduates. They will look for employment and kadaku gid sang bulig sang BPO companies sa employment,” he stressed.
On the other hand, Treñas lauded PCCI for organizing the business conference. He said the event is important, timely and a venue to discuss issues in the business sector post-pandemic.
“I am also cognizant of the need for evidence-based discussions and planning if we truly want to address the problems in the economy,” he added.
He also underscored that PCCI Iloilo has always been a consistent partner of the city in promoting economic recovery and creating more opportunities for investments and entrepreneurship.
“The Iloilo City government is always willing to work with the business sector to capitalize on our potential for growth,” Treñas said.
More than 200 startup entrepreneurs, corporate executives, business students, and other stakeholders attended the business conference.
Invited speakers include CBRE Country Head Jie Espinosa; Grab Country Head Grace Vera Cruz; European Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Visayas Business Council Chairman Joe Bantiling; Wong-Bernstein Group Executive Director Prof. Enrique Soriano; and Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) Director of ICT Development Bureau Emmy Lou Versoza Delfin.
Iloilo province’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. and former senator Franklin Drilon were also among the special guests.
“This business conference is our way of keeping our Ilonggo businessmen updated of the economic status of Western Visayas and the various business opportunities that they can grab,” said PCCI-Iloilo president Engineer Fulbert Woo.
“Aside from learning business trends and gain new insights from our roster of business experts, this business conference also served as a good platform for our Ilonggo entrepreneurs, especially the startups, to network with our industry players across the region,” he added./PN
