BPO in the Philippines

Benefits of call centre outsourcing to Philippines

Nikhil Chandwani 
Times Of India
31 July 2019

The entrepreneurial sector of the Philippines has been progressing vigorously, leaving behind competitors like China and India.

Especially as far as the outsourcing sector is concerned, it turns out that there are several newfound benefits of outsourcing to the Philippines. Over the past couple of years, there has been a thirty per cent growth in the business sector of the Philippines.

The strength of the BPO market has thus been established and is likely to witness more than twenty per cent growth in the coming years. Some key benefits of outsourcing to the Philippines include:

Data security

One of the key features can be seen in the Privacy of Data Act that has been brought to action in the Philippines. A prime concern of companies is to be able to keep their data secure from the prying sight of any third party. Any confidential or sensitive data will be protected from third-party infiltrations. Only authorized parties can access this data. This makes Philippines an extremely reliable destination for all forms of outsourcing tasks.

Convenience of language

Communication is not a bridge when it comes to working with the Philippines. English proficiency in the area is extremely high; thus, any form of communication and instruction gathering can be easily facilitated. Any communication with clients from different areas can remain secure as there will be no issues related to language accents or inconsistencies. This is a major benefit of maintaining a consistent standard for the representation of your business on various platforms.

Young talent

The Philippines working class constitutes of young talent in their twenties. This not only means that professionals in sectors like technical work are updated with the latest ongoings in their departments, but are also more trainable as compared to employees who have been working for a longer number of years.

The prime factor of growth remains the trainability of these professionals who can be moulded to carry out many tasks that are handed to them efficiently.

The success of the BPO industry is based on this system that is facilitated by the adaptability and flexibility of talented professionals. This is also a reason why the Philippines is one of the best places to outsource work to, as your business requirements can be easily accommodated with such high levels of customization.

The wide diversity in services

With various technical and cultural influences, the diversity in the range of services that flourish throughout the Philippines is remarkable. From desk services to other professions that require technically sound employees, everything that you are looking for can be found under a single roof. These are not just professionals who can accommodate your different requirements but are also highly educated and qualified in their respective fields.

This diversity makes the outsourcing of all the tasks from a company, often pertaining to different sectors, a lot more efficient and manageable.

Thus, in the modern business view of competition and hustle, outsourcing work from the Philippines can present your business with various benefits including quality work, efficient management and a reduced cost of availing all these services. Any growing brand must realize the significance of being able to collaborate with such professionals, who can not only help to grow your business further but also bring quality work for your label.

PH FDI magnet

Fitch unit sees more FDIs in Philippines

Lawrence Agcaoili

The Philippine Star

28 July 2019

Tax reform, free trade deals expected to provide boost

MANILA, Philippines — The tax reform program in the country is seen boosting the country’s chances of bagging more foreign direct investments (FDI) , according to the research arm of the Fitch Group.

In its latest industry trend analysis, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said tax reforms in the Philippines would attract foreign investments particularly in the field of medical devices..File

In its latest industry trend analysis, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said tax reforms in the Philippines would attract foreign investments particularly in the field of medical devices.

“The tax reform program in the Philippines will boost the country’s attractiveness and encourage foreign investment. The Philippines currently has the second highest corporate tax rate in East And Southeast Asia,” Fitch Solutions said.

Fitch Solutions said FDIs in the country are somewhat hindered by a high fiscal burden through the high tax rates, which pose operational headwinds to firms and create barriers to investment.

Under the proposed tax reforms, the government intends to reduce corporate tax to 20 percent from 30 percent over 10 years from 2021, as well as reducing the number of capital income tax rates to 42 from 80.

“We believe that this will benefit medical device companies and boost foreign investment, as the tax reforms promote a more business friendly environment in the Philippines,” Fitch Solutions said.

The free trade agreements (FTAs) are also seen further boosting the country’s competitiveness and ease of trading for businesses.

For one, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez held talks with Terumo last March to discuss the company’s plans to expand production of IV catheters at its manufacturing plant in Laguna Technopark in  Biñan, Laguna.

This follows the  approval of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Package 2 (TRAIN-2) in 2018, and as of 2019, the Duterte administration has remained optimistic that all packages of the proposed comprehensive tax reform program will be approved by 2020.

“On the other hand, the extent to which companies will benefit from the tax reforms will be limited by the proposed changes in investment incentives. We note that there have already been reports of some firms putting on hold their planned investments amid concerns of the proposed changes in the incentives regime,” it said.

Fitch Solutions said the changes include shortening income tax holidays for companies, as well as removing the five percent tax incentive on gross income earned, which companies registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) can claim.

“Businesses investing in the Philippines will benefit from a broad range of FTAs. Regional trade for medical device companies in the Philippines is facilitated by the country’s membership of the ASEAN, which has reduced or removed tariff and non-tariff trade barriers for most goods in recent years,” it said.

The ASEAN has also inked FTAs with some of the Philippines’ major trade partners, including China, Japan and South Korea. This will continue to boost the country’s competitiveness and ease the trading process for businesses, making it a more attractive destination for medical device companies.         

SONA 2019: Focus on Economy

Such great economic progress  in last 3 years  

   

Manila Bulletin |Editorial

21 July 2019

When President Duterte delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at a joint session of Congress tomorrow, Monday,  it will mark the start of the second half of his administration.  A great deal is expected  in these next three years , especially in the economic  field. The World Bank  sees the Philippines as the fastest growing economy in the Association  of  Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) today. It is now  the  13^th  largest economy in Asia, and  projected  to be the 5^th largest  in Asia and 16^th largest  in the world by 2050.

What could be the most significant economic development  for the country in the coming months and years  is  a joint  oil and gas exploration  with China which is expected to  begin this November, according to Energy Secretary Alfonso  Cusi,  chairman of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

President  Duterte  signed last May 28 Executive Order No. 80  removing a final roadblock to  an oil exploration, development, and production  agreement between the Philippine Exploration Corp. and the China National Offshore Oil Corp.  The  administration  had earlier signed  its first agreement with an Israeli company in 2018  covering a 416,000-hectare area east of Palawan. The  new agreement  with China covers a 720,000-hectare area in Calamian, west of Palawan. Calamian is one of two regions  near Palawan believed  to have considerable oil  resources;  the other is Reed Bank.

The  oil exploration agreement  is only one  area in  the multi-faceted relations  we have developed with China in the last three years. Our  trade with China, including Hong Kong, reached $417 billion this May, making  it the Philippines’ top trading partner. Philippine banana  exports tripled  in the first quarter of 2019 to $160 million.  Philippine  Online Gaming   Operations (POGO)  earned  P24 billion in taxes.  In 2018,  1.2 million Chinese tourists  boosted  the Philippine economy  by P32 billion;  2 million are expected  by 2020, a potential addition of  P50 billion to the economy.

In our ”Build, Build, Build”infrastructure program, China is involved in a big  way, including two donated bridges across the Pasig River, funding for a P500-million   Metro Manila flood-control project now on its second year,  a  P175-billion South Rail Project,  and  an P18.7-billion Kaliwa Dam to boost Metro Manila’s  water supply.

We may have ongoing  disputes in our conflicting claims to certain islands in the South China Sea, particularly in  the 200-mile  Exclusive Economic Zone we have renamed West Philippine Sea, but  President Duterte appears to have the situation well in hand.  He believes  the political  dispute will eventually be settled; in the meantime, he  is determined to see the Philippines benefit from the many  economic programs  that are underway.

The first half of the Duterte administration ends today  with considerable  economic  growth and progress. We look forward  to the second half which, we expect, will be marked with even more  economic  growth, as the President  spells out his plans for the country in the  next  three years in his State of the Nation Address tomorrow.

Math Wizzards in Hong Kong

Filipino elementary students bag 11 awards in world math contest 

Philippine Star

21 July 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Eight Filipino elementary students recently brought pride to the country as they reaped 11 awards in an international math competition in Hong Kong.

Filipino students and their coaches at the awarding ceremony of the 22nd Po Leung Kuk Primary Mathematics World Contest in Hong Kong. Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines/Released

The Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines said the eight Grade 5 students represented the Philippines and competed against 144 other students at the 22nd Po Leung Kuk Primary Mathematics World Contest held from July 15 to 19 in Hong Kong.

They won two silver and four bronze medals in the individual contest while four silver medals and a trophy were earned by the delegation in the team category.

MTG said the winning silver medals in the individual contest are Jerome Austin Te of Jubilee Christian Academy and Michael Gerard Tongson of Stonyhurst Southville International School-Malarayat.

On the other hand, the individual bronze medalists are Kody Briones of Emmanuel Christian School, Iris Lexi Ababon of Colegio San Agustin-Makati, Sophie Jill Co of Pace Academy and Sean Jang of Elizabeth Seton School-South.

Ian Gabriel Hong of Pace Academy, Tongson, Te and Briones meanwhile snagged the first-runner up trophy for the team contest. The Philippine Team A were awarded silver medals and a trophy. 

MTG president Isidro Aguilar said they were very proud of the young students.

“We congratulate our Filipino contestants for winning awards in the contest,” Aguilar said.

Aside from the Philippines, students from countries such as the US, Australia, South Korea, China, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore and Vietnam also joined the math contest. — Rosette Adel 

The Jollibee Story

The story of Jollibee: how a Philippine fast food franchise took on the world

Richard Lord

South China Morning Post

21 July 2019

• Philippine brand Jollibee has grown from two outlets in Manila in the 1970s to more than 1,300 restaurants in its home country and overseas
• The chain adapts its menus for different cultures, but its Chickenjoy fried chicken is a favourite everywhere.

You only need to spend about 20 minutes in the Philippines to realise that Filipinos really love to eat.

The country has a dazzling profusion of dining outlets, in particular at the casual end of the market, but one brand is seen more than others. And it’s a brand that also seems to induce warm, fuzzy feelings in more or less everyone in the country: Jollibee.

Philippine franchise Jollibee has become one of the world’s biggest fast food chains. Photo: Jansen Romero

The fast food company has 1,150 outlets in the Philippines, and a bigger share of the Philippine market than its two biggest competitors combined, as well as 234 overseas outlets in 15 territories. It is the 24th largest fast food chain globally (including coffee chains) by number of branches, and fifth among companies not from the United States.

It refers to itself in promotional posters displayed in its offices in the Manila business district Ortigas Centre as the largest Asian restaurant company in the world.

This food and beverage empire was born in 1975 – and at the time served only ice cream. It was the brainchild of company founder and chairman Tony Tan Caktiong (generally referred to by his staff as Sir Tony in a sign of respect), the third child of seven in an impoverished family who moved to the Philippines from Fujian province in China. His father opened a small Buddhist restaurant in the southern Philippine city of Davao when Tan was a child.

Tan himself studied for a degree in chemical engineering, but aged just 22, he was inspired by a trip to an ice cream plant to spend his family’s savings on the franchises for two Magnolia Dairy Ice Cream outlets, Cubao Ice Cream House in Quezon City, Metro Manila, and Quiapo Ice Cream House in central Manila.

Cubao Ice Cream House in Quezon City was one of the first two franchises Tan bought before founding Jollibee. Photo: courtesy of Jollibee

People started asking for hot food, so he began providing hamburgers and sandwiches, and soon they were more popular than the ice cream. Neither of the original branches is still operating – but several of the original employees still work for the company.

The Jollibee name was introduced in 1978, first as Jolibe; it was changed to the current spelling so that it could be more easily associated with the words “jolly” and “bee” – and so that, thanks to the non-standard spelling, it could be easily trademarked.

“It compares the employees of the company to busy workers in a hive: hard working, industrious and providing the sweet things in life,” says Dennis Flores, president and head of international business, EMEAA, for parent company Jollibee Foods. “And Sir Tony thought it was not enough that the employees worked hard, but they should also be enjoying their work.”

The first Jollibee store opened in Manila in 1978. Photo: courtesy of Jollibee

In its early years Jollibee faced perhaps the biggest challenge in its corporate history: both McDonald’s and KFC entered the Philippine market in the early 1980s. Instead of having their usual effect of sweeping aside local competition, in Jollibee they found a competitor more attuned to the local market, and one with a particularly determined founder.

“As early as [owning] five stores, Sir Tony was already dreaming of being the best in the country and the world,” says Flores. “He was advised to sell the business and ride on the success of the multinationals. But he believed he had knowledge of the market and great-tasting products.”

The line-up of products that Jollibee is best known for today, all of them tailored to meet local tastes, were pretty much in place by the early ’80s. Its menu items include the Yumburger and the uniquely sweet Jolly Spaghetti, but the star of the show is the

Chickenjoy fried chicken

, introduced in 1980.

“Fried chicken is a very popular product in the Philippines,” says Flores. “Chickenjoy is delicately breaded to produce a crisp, delicious feel, and there’s a secret marinade.”

It’s also the key product in Jollibee’s international expansion, because most cultures tend to appreciate it. “Chickenjoy is our number one product – the bestseller in every market in the world. It appeals to a diverse set of customers and nationalities,” Flores says.

The company started offering franchise opportunities in 1979, had 10 stores by 1981 and became the local market leader in 1985. It really started moving from the late ’80s, however, doubling its sales between 1987 and 1989, and then again by 1991, and further tripling them by 1996.

It opened its 100th outlet in 1991, then reached 200 in 1996, 300 in 1998, 400 in 2001, 500 in 2004, 600 in 2007, 700 in 2010, 800 in 2013 and 1,000 in 2015. The company was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in 1993, with its share price rising 135 per cent in the first three months.

Tony Tan Caktiong, chairman of Jollibee Foods, started his empire by buying two ice cream franchises in the 1970s. Photo: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg

It started to expand outside the Philippines in 1987, initially in Brunei, and then in a big way from 1995, when it moved into Guam, Dubai, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The US followed in 1998, and the likes of Qatar, Singapore, Bahrain, Italy and the UK more recently. Its fastest period of overseas expansion, though, has been the past three years.

The company has two different strategies when moving into or expanding in a particular country, because the customer mix varies quite widely from market to market. In the Middle East, for example, the clientele is overwhelmingly expat Filipinos; in Vietnam, by contrast, where the company has 118 outlets, more than half of its total outside the Philippines, it’s almost exclusively local.

In London and Milan local custom stands at about 20 per cent, but it’s rising fast. And these days it boasts a local customer base of more than 50 per cent in Hong Kong, where it has eight outlets.

Flores says the company regards Hong Kong as a particularly exciting market, and has ambitious expansion plans over the next five years.

Similarly, the level of localisation, both in the company’s operations and its menu, varies from country to country. “When we enter a market, we bring the products we’re famous for – the chicken, the spaghetti, the burger,” he says. “Over time, we bring in local products: in Vietnam we have chilli chicken, and in Brunei nasi lemak.”

Its strategy in China has been a little different from most other places, buying local brands rather than introducing its own. Jollibee bought its first overseas brand, Yonghe King in China, in 2004, and also owns chains Hong Zhuang Yuan and San Pin Wang. It has gone down the same route in the US, buying 40 per cent of local chain Smashburger in 2015 and fully acquiring it last year.

Chowking Food is a Chinese restaurant chain operated by Jollibee Foods. Photo: Carlo Gabuco/Bloomberg

Jollibee started moving into other food sectors domestically in 1994 when it acquired Greenwich Pizza. It now also owns Chinese fast food chain Chowking, Red Ribbon Bakeshop and barbecue chain Mang Inasal. The company is also joint owner of Highlands Coffee, with more than 300 branches in the Philippines and Vietnam, and of Pho 24 in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Macau and South Korea.

The company started running TV ads as early as 1980, and in the same year it introduced what has become the focus of its marketing, its mascots – particularly the brand’s instantly recognisable bee character, which appears in life-size form in its stores. It was inspired, says Flores, by the popularity of Mickey Mouse.

“Tony was trying to think of something that would represent the Jollibee brand, and the benchmark at that time was Disney.”

Dennis Flores, head of international markets at Jollibee Foods. Photo: Jansen Romero

Jollibee has been also involved in creating media content, with Jollitown, an animated children’s TV series starring the company’s mascots that began in 2008 and was the highest rated children’s programme in the Philippines while it ran.

Children’s education and health have been a focus of its charitable endeavours, along with the welfare and economic development of farmers, formalised since 2004 in the Jollibee Group Foundation.

There’s a distinct family feel to Jollibee the organisation. Flores himself has worked for the company for 19 years, and he says there are many similar stories.

“I feel very strongly that we have a unique culture: our values are putting the customer first, speed with excellence, humility, a spirit of generosity, and integrity. These are not just words in a document framed and hung on a wall; they’re values lived from the store teams to the senior management. There’s a synergy and unity of purpose among a diverse set of employees.”

It’s also a company that many customers hold very close to their hearts, tied up with memories of home and childhood.

Flores says the reaction when he tells people he works for Jollibee is priceless.

“It’s actually very heart warming to see the reactions of people when I tell them. When we opened in Saudi Arabia, it was like customers were home,” Flores says.

“Filipinos are all part of Jollibee; all through their lives they’ve been going to Jollibee, and they feel like they have an attachment. They give you suggestions on the menu, the service. Where there’s no store, people plead with us to open one. It’s heart warming to have Filipinos, our core customers, love the brand.