Outsourcing Industry

[dinabaw]

Tuesday, July 01, 2008
PhilNits Davao now offers review course

THE Philippine National Information Technology Standards Foundation Inc. (PhilNits) will be hosting a Fundamental Exam (FE) Review Course for all IT professionals, teachers, and students to be conducted by the PhilNits Society in its offices in Manila, Cebu City, and Davao City.

In Davao City, this will be handled by a veteran trainer/lecturer of the PhilNits Society, Aloysius L. Torres.

The review courses are designed for beginners and/or experienced IT professionals who want to pass the PhilNits FE exam, which will be held on October 19 this year at the University of Immaculate Conception (UIC), Bonifacio St., Davao City.

Passers of the PhilNits FE examination will have bigger chances of working in Japan and get the same benefits being enjoyed by the Japanese employees.

The Review Course will be in two sessions, to wit: Option A -- afternoon sessions every Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and Option B -- evening sessions every Monday and Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.

Classes will start on July 5 for the afternoon sessions and August 4 for the evening sessions.

For more information, please feel free to contact Joy Alferez of PhilNits-Davao at telephone number (082) 227-9448 or email at philnits.davao@gmail.com.

Interested parties may also visit the PhilNits-Davao Office at 5th Floor Mintrade Building, corner Monteverde Avenue and Sales Street, Davao City.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav...ew.course.html

[dinabaw]

Lifestyle Article
DAVAO CYBER EXPO 2008
By H. O. Castillo

TECHNOPHOBES,surrender! It is useless to resist computers and the fun that goes along with high technology.
To many young people, computer gaming is not a trivial pursuit of joy but a lifestyle. They explore the cyber-world to meet friends and download stuff; the affluent even shop through the Internet with a credit card. Pen pal writing has become obsolete eons ago due to email, chat, friendster, myspace, facebook and other social networking websites. The bold even upload their videos on YouTube hoping to be the next Arnel Pineda or Charice Pempengco.
Those who have embraced cyber-culture eagerly anticipate the latest news and events to keep them always techno-savvy. The Davao Cyber Expo 2008 at NCCC Mall, Matina, Davao City is something that techies look forward to. Organized by E2 (e-squared) Events, the expo will run on July 4, 5, & 6 during mall hours with loads of prizes and surprises. E2 President Kitsi Avila and VP Lester Avila announced the following activities to take place:
Davao Cyber Games - teams from Davao, Tagum and Gen. Santos Cities will compete in a popular game called Warcraft: DotA (Defense of the Ancients). The champion will take home 25k and the 2nd placer gets 10k cash.
Online Gaming Championships- - the top three (3) online gaming companies in the Philippines (E-Games, Level Up, and ABS CBN interactive) come together only at Davao Cyber Expo. Around 150k worth of prizes are at stake in the cyber games.
Creative Edge – This is aimed at recognizing the city’s finest graphics designers and animators - as well as inspiring others to pursue a career in this field.
Creative Sessions – learning sessions with talks from Davao City’s leading graphics designers. This is to educate and inspire young minds to get into the IT industry via creative skills such as graphic design and digital animation
LAN Party Extreme – a gathering of local gaming and PC enthusiasts. This event will host a free for all LAN gaming, as well as knowledge sharing among gamers and PC enthusiasts. LAN Party participants will bring their own computers. These computers are usually highly modified, optimized, and over-clocked. This gives the regular computer user a chance to see what can be done to a computer to improve its looks and performance. (This is like a “car show” of computers.)
Local bands will be on stage to provide live entertainment. Admission to the 2nd Davao Cyber Expo at NCCC Mall is free.


http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20598

[dinabaw]

Callbox opens 4th facility in Makati

Makati, Manila – California-based Callbox Sales and Marketing Solutions, the largest call center and BPO in the Western Visayas, has completed the opening of its third facility in the Philippines. The offices on the ninth floor of The Pearlbank Center in the Makati commercial business district are already deployed exclusively to complement the management and sales teams nationwide. With its Davao branch recently launched in the Landco Corporate Centre in Davao City early this year, Callbox is now a formidable force in the country with representative offices in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“It's another exciting year for us. In the last six months we've opened smoothly, successfully, and on schedule, in three strategic cities, more than doubling our capacity to 1200. Our clients and our market need this, and our technical infrastructure supports it. Most significantly though, this healthy debt-free organic growth continues as we enter our fifth year of operations, because our marketing is effective, and reflexively, our product is effective," Callbox COO Glen Norris said.

"Exactly," chimed CEO Rom Agustin, "our marketing IS our product. The hundreds of clients we service is a buffet of evidence that our staff and technology, combined with our best practices, is uniquely effective. We're thrilled and literally 'on a mission' to provide the same effective sales and marketing solutions to thousands more. We are not just marketing-we are marketing marketing, and in terms of the sheer number of clients in the market for offshore marketing, that's a remarkable market. Month after month our marketing staff hits the mark," he remarked. "It's a fact that we have six Marks on staff, including one Mark in marketing."

Callbox Makati is now operating, and will continue to accept applicants for Inside Sales and Outside Sales Representatives. To apply, visit join.callboxinc. com and click “I want to join up in Makati City.”

Callbox Sales and Marketing Solutions is the sales lead generation company of choice for IT and software companies, financial services companies, commercial cleaning companies, as well as a host of companies from the logistics, telecommunications, and merchant services industries worldwide. Callbox operates facilities in Makati City, Iloilo City, Davao City, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


http://dailymirror.ph/July/business07042008&04.html

[davaoeagle]

Saturday, July 05, 2008
IT firm in Singapore plans to locate here
Sunstar Davao

A SINGAPORE-based investor is interested in putting up a call center company in Davao City, according to the director of the Board of Investments (BOI) for Mindanao.

BOI chief for Mindanao Gil Dureza said Samuel Acosta, information technology (IT) manager, and Alvin Nathan, director of the Eureka Advisory PTE Ltd., have already visited the city for this perspective.

"They already visited Davao and they enjoyed the climate here. They moved around by night, they noticed the presence of some foreign-based companies and were convinced that Davao City is a secure place," Dureza said.

He said Acosta and Nathan also inspected the labor market of Davao and realized it is good.

"They plan to put up a call center company here because in Singapore, there is a very fast turnover of the labor market resulting in shortage of manpower," Dureza said.

He added that in Singapore, the lowest rate of an IT staff is P50,000 per month.

As to the image problem of Mindanao, Dureza said the investors did not mind the risk.

"Acosta is actually from Cotabato City, so he is used to that image perception," Dureza said.

He said Davao City is far better than Cotabato in terms of peace and security.

Initially, Dureza said if the perspective of the investors will materialize, a capacity of 50- to 80- seater call center company will then be added to the expanding number of call center companies in Davao City.

Davao City now has six to seven call center companies, said Dureza. (JGRS)

[dinabaw]

Friday, July 04, 2008
Davao mangoes to be exported to US: Arroyo

THE country's rejuvenated economic trade ties with one of its strongest allies get another boost with the sweet mangoes of Davao del Sur possibly taking the first base in the recent trade talks led by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Fresh from his latest visit to the US, Arroyo on Tuesday visited a festive 41st Founding Anniversary of the Province of Davao del Sur bringing with her some good news of successful trade talks with American investors.

"We met with a number of investors and business leaders in New York. We secured new commitments for job creation and investments in the Philippines," Arroyo said before top government officials and employees at the jam-packed provincial gymnasium in Mati.

Soon to take its lead as the area's sunshine industry, the export of fresh mangoes to the US will be made possible though the signing of an agreement by Agriculture Secretary Yap and his American counterpart on the following: 1. Collaboration on sanitary and phytosanitary measures; 2. Agricultural market, institutional, and rural development; 3. Biotechnology and other new technologies and; 4. An improved climate between entrepreneurs of both countries for agricultural trade and investment.

All set to embark on a 45-city swing nationwide starting with the province's capital city of Digos following her successful trip in the US, Arroyo also announced a number of ongoing and incoming infrastructure projects particularly highways and bridges that will link the different municipalities of the province with neighboring provinces. (PIA 11)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/dav...us.arroyo.html

[kronology]

Originally Posted by dinabaw

Duterte welcomes entry
of Tagum Coop in the city

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte welcomed the entry in Davao City of one of the biggest cooperative in Mindanao, the Tagum Cooperative, with over 31,081 members spread out in the provinces of Tagum, Panabo and Davao, with a total asset of Php583.3-million.

The Tagum Cooperative, in one of its expansion program have established a satellite (branch) office located at McArthur highway (fronting NCCC mall), with Robert de Castroas its Davao Satellite Office branch manager.

In its formal inauguration Sunday, Davao City Development Cooperative head Engr. Jaime Adalin represented Mayor Duterte to grace the special occasion and read the inspirational speech of the Mayor.

“You (Tagum coop) have shown that Davao City is truly an investment haven and we are honored to have you to be part of the growing business community,” the speech of Mayor Duterte stated.

“The expansion of Tagum Cooperative (TC) services in Davao City is one potential area of partnership and complementation with our existing cooperative livelihood assistance program aimed at uplifting the socio-economic conditions of the cooperative members and their organization,” it stated.

For their part, TC Chairperson Antonio Arañas and TC Vice Chair Norma Pereyras both said that TC is committed to be partners with Davao City’s efforts for the city’s total development.

In an exclusive interview with Baby Gomez and Edith Isidro – both of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Manager de Castro said TC has also branch offices in Carmen, Davao Norte;Nabunturan, Comval province; and Buhangin, Davao City.

Manager de Castro said Buhangin branch is slated to transfer along Bajada by July this year to make the cooperative more accessible to the public.

As of end of March 2008, TC loan portfolio reached Php384.1-million; total deposits – Php289.5-million; Share Capital – Php156-million; and total net income – Php4.6-million.

We are proud to say that “TC has no external credit” and we have no loans nor borrowed anywhere else. This is the reason why TC can offer the lowest interest rates in members’ borrowings/loans, he said.

Official lists of Board members are: Antonio C. Arañas – Chairperson; Norma R. Pereyras – Vice Chairperson; and Directors: Nenita E. Lumaad, Atty. Celerina E. Esuerte, Nenita R. Malbas, Prudencio N. Mabanglo, and Evelia R. Sator.

Key Manager Officers are: Juris D. Perez – manager; Monica L. Salido – Treasurer; Atty. Rolando C. Casaway – legal counsel; and Hermarie Torreon-Esmael – BOD Recording Secretary. PIA/rbpalacio

http://www.dailymirror.ph/business05202008&05.html

That guy is our Neighbor in tagum!!! he's the godfather of my younger brother. la lang. that tall guy is a very good person.

[kronology]

Originally Posted by Peng Hok

Saturday, April 19, 2008
NCCC opens new branch in GSC

A LONG time Davao-based supermarket has opened a branch in General Santos City just recently.

The New City Commercial Center (NCCC) opened its 1,000-square meter Supermarket Wholesale Center outlet in the tuna capital on April 14, 2008.

NCCC mall PR officer Aileen Gajo said the newly opened wholesale center is located along Leon Llido Street in Lagao district. The property is on lease to NCCC.

She said it is the eighth supermarket branch, and will focus on servicing wholesalers and distributors in the city and nearby towns of Sarangani Province.

This will bridge medium to small-scale distributors, and sari-sari store retailers that service their community's daily household needs.

Director for Operations Jojo Canda meanwhile said they are looking at servicing other customer-driven outlets like school canteens, hospitals and clinics, restaurants, even hotels and inns who may want to take advantage of quality merchandise at reasonable prices.

He said that on the opening day the NCCC's Rewards membership sold at P88 attracted 300 new members who will receive rebates from purchases made at the wholesale outlet. More purchases of at least P200 allows more points that may be redeemed as gift certificates or gift items within the year.

The opening ceremony were led by chair of the Board, Helen A. Lim; Group president Tek Sim L. Go; Group executive vice president, Tick Hua L. Fernandez.

The NCCC Supermarket is a member of the NCCC Group of Companies operating in the cities of Davao, Tagum, Palawan and now, General Santos City.

an insider of the NCCC headquarters told me that they are planning to Expand in tagum. this is due marahil to the overwhelming pagpatronize ng mga tagumeno to the said mall branch. the probability is either another supermarket, or mall or an outlet. for me, i think its either a supermarket or a mall.

[kronology]

Tagum Coop Brief History

Tagum Cooperative (TC) founded in Nov. 6, 1967 by a handful of determined and cooperative-mine individuals with a measly total share capital of only one hundred sixty ( 160.00 ) pesos at hand, and who had the passion to help the less fortunate brethrens it was originally called, the HOLY NAME SOCIETY (HNS) of Tagum Parish”.


Started only with one (1 ) or two (2) basic lending programs when it was founded in 1967, now it has over 20 major an minor lending, savings and mortuary programs and services where members can easily choose from.

[oradude23]

RLC builds 7 BPO sites in provinces

By JAMES A. LOYOLA

Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), the country’s largest office landlord, is developing seven BPO and call center sites this year to expand its office space inventory and give its clients a stronger presence in the provinces.


RLC president Frederick Go said in an interview that while many of these projects are relatively small compared to their projects in Metro Manila, these provincial office spaces give BPOs a chance to relocate to the region of their choice.

He added that these BPO spaces will be built together with new malls and will have about 5,000 square meters of leasable space costing "just a few hundred million pesos."

RLC disclosed earlier that it is allotting R13.9 billin for capital expenditures for 2008 and 2009 of which 40 percent will be used to build new malls while the rest will be for office and residential developments.

To be developed by RLC’s Office Buildings Division in tandem with its Commercial Centers Division, the seven new projects are adapting the mixed use format, a strategy RLC pioneered when it built the Robinsons Galleria Center.

"We are currently incorporating office spaces intended for BPOs and call center operators in our shopping mall developments, specifically Robinsons Luisita in Tarlac City, Robinsons Cybergate Cebu between Cebu’s Chong Hua Hospital and Fuente Osmena," said Henry Yap, Business Unit General Manager for RLC’s Office Buildings Division.

He added that "Robinsons Cybergate Davao, along J. P. Laurel in the Bajada District, and Robinsons Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong City are also under construction and will be ready for occupancy by next year. We are currently accepting lease inquiries for all these properties."

These projects are in addition to two recently completed projects in Robinsons Otis, in Manila and Cybergate Tower 3 in Mandaluyong City – both of which are now ready for occupancy.

BPO and call center firms are rapidly expanding into the provinces due to lower costs of operations, larger manpower pool and lower rate of employee turnover.

In addition, the relatively lower cost of operations in the Philippines have encouraged many firms in the United States and Western Europe to outsource their operations to the Philippines, thereby making these sites even more desirable and lucrative.

"We are also giving these BPOs an opportunity to undertake pioneering efforts in our sites, a move that is very much encouraged and supported by the local government units that hosts our malls and offices buildings," said Yap.

RLC, a leading property developer and landlord of choice, foresees that locators for business process outsourcing and the call center industry in general, are gearing their expansion plans toward key regional urban centers.

"These areas—-Cebu, Davao, Northern Luzon and the Calabarzon areas offer talented and highly skilled human resources sourced from prestigious educational institutions that are highly proficient in English," added Yap.

RLC has built BPOs and call centers in Bacolod, Lipa (Batangas) and Sta. Rosa (Laguna) and Cainta (Rizal). In Metro Manila, in addition to Robinsons Novaliches and two Cybergate Towers within the Forum Robinsons Complex in Mandaluyong City.

RLC is now planning more buildings in the Old Medical City site in Mandaluyong, along Ayala Avenue where a recent joint venture deal was entered into by RLC, Security Land and Taganito Mining Corporation, and in Tacloban where a mall is now under construction.

[dinabaw]

Blogie
8 Jul '08
Planning for more IT seminars in Davao

Inspired by the activeness of local bloggers, Ted Padova — Davao’s resident Adobe expert and co-founder of ApoVisions.com — has come up with a plan to organize high-value seminars primarily for Mindanao bloggers. It’ll be a series of teach-ins that will arm Dabawenyos with gainful knowledge in various I.T. fields.

Of course, Ted is more than willing to impart his expertise in Adobe products, particularly Acrobat, PhotoShop, InDesign, and others. For my part, I have volunteered to contribute my meager knowledge in WordPress and CSS.

Dennis Agulo is also on board. He’s a PHP developer who’s certified in Zend, so you can expect what he’ll be bringing to the table. Dennis has also promised to treat us to beer!

The beer will be for the planning session this Friday (11 July 2008) at Fwendz Diner in Metro Avenue, at the back of Gaisano Mall. For those who’d like to contribute to this effort, see you there at 8pm!

Anyone who’d like to help plan the seminar series and/or contribute his or her know-how is welcome to join us this Friday.


http://www.robilloblog.com/2008/07/0...nars-in-davao/

[dinabaw]

Professional Audio Quality
By H. O. Castillo

WITH THE advent of powerful computers and available audio recording software (legit or otherwise), home recording has become a reality among pro and amateur musicians. Many computer programs even allow users to produce songs without using real musical instruments. But those who are quite serious about recording professional audio quality may find home recording inadequate due to two basic reasons: gear and ear. Good recording equipment are expensive and a reliable recording engineer is hard to find.
Fortunately, there’s a place called SOUNDTRACK Recording Studios along Ilustre Street in Davao City for those who want to produce great sounding songs. Formerly known as TRACK ONE, it is owned and managed by Ryan Cris Rellon and Lino Cajegas. These long time friends are like mortar and pestle since Ryan has exceptional audio recording, mixing, and mastering skills while Lino is gifted with admirable songwriting talent. It means that they know how to help polish a customer’s composition in both technical and musical terms. These guys have become well known in the local music recording business but they keep their feet on the ground. They maintain great respect for UM Broadcasting Network because it is where they honed their talents well. Creating jingles and full length songs at the UMBN recording studio, the inseparable duo eventually established their own recording business.
Ryan and Lino are the “unsung heroes” in the original production of HUBAG by Thavawenyoz, CHARING by 1017, and other local hit songs. Supporting 92.3 Wild FM’s 1st Battle of the Bands last summer, SOUNDTRACK Recording Studios gave free recording sessions to the winners in that competition.
Those who’d like to record their songs or voice-over pieces at SOUNDTRACK, they can find the studio at the mezzanine floor of the building that houses Greenwich Pizza at Ilustre.

http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20708

[dinabaw]

Lifestyle Article
Scrumptious salads and sandwiches
By Ian Ray C. Garcia Published : 2008-07-04

HIPPOCRATES once said that “the wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings - let food be your medicine.” This must have inspired young entrepreneur Richard Ongyongyong to start his new venture to healthy eating.
When this 32 year-old health buff saw that Davaoeños have started to become more and more health conscious and have began to be more discriminating with their food intake, it gave him the idea to make and sell healthy and nutritious food preparations especially that not so many restaurants in the city serve food that specifically cater to such market.
Initially, he thought of making garden salads solely with ingredients from fresh vegetables sourced from our local markets. To give him enough credentials, he enrolled in a five-month skills course at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies Davao where he learned how to use simple ingredients for salads and dressings. Taking pointers from a close friend, he later included sandwiches in his menu, using fresh ingredients and whole wheat bread.
We all know that eating vegetables regularly can have many health benefits as these contain vitamins, minerals and thousands of other natural plant nutrients. Along with many disease-reducing benefits, eating vegetables can also help control weight since they are low in fats and calories, a good source of dietary fiber, and provide us with extra boost of energy.
Vegetables are also low in sodium, thus can cause less water retention. It has been estimated that an average person may be holding up to five pounds of additional water caused from a high intake of sodium. If we eat more vegetables, our sodium intake naturally lowers.
With these in mind, Richard made sure that his healthy salads and sandwiches will taste as good – or even better - than those high caloric (with saturated fats) versions served in other fast-food restaurants that lack antioxidants and the much needed fibers.
After spending many weekends experimenting and letting his friends and relatives sample his healthy culinary creations, Richard has finally unleashed his line of delectable and nourishing starters and snacks.
Today, one can enjoy his salads – Mediterranean Grapes (Iceberg and Romaine lettuce with black and red grapes and slices of olives paired with French herb or sesame soy dressing), Nicoise (ni-suwass) Tuna (Iceberg and Romaine lettuce with green beans and carrots, chunks of tuna, paired with harvest dressing), Garden Veggies (Iceberg lettuce with slices of cucumber and tomatoes paired with hravet dressing or lemon lime vinaigrette), Beans and Olives (Iceberg and Romaine lettuce with red and white kidney beans, green olives paired with strawberry dressing) and sandwiches – Pesto Pastrami (Iceberg lettuce with thick slices of beef pastrami, pesto cream, slices of tomatoes, mustard and lite mayo), Chicken Ham (Iceberg lettuce with chicken ham, tomatoes, lite salt, mustard and lite mayo), Lemon Chicken (Iceberg lettuce with shredded chicken, zest of lemon and lite mayo), Salmon and Raisins (Iceberg lettuce with salmon fish, lite mayo and chopped raisins) exclusively at Bo’s Coffee Club – Torres St. outlet.
Man may not live by bread alone that is why Richard made sure that his customers will get enough nourishment and gustatory satisfaction from the fresh, crisp ingredients in his lip-smacking good salads and sandwiches.
POSTSCRIPT FROM THE EDGE: Join Holiday Gym and Spa’s major events for July and August as they pursue their efforts to campaign for healthy living. On July 27, join the Davao Mega Aero Marathon, 5:30 AM at the car park of SM City Davao.
Registration fee is at P200 with free shirt, cash prizes, trophy, and other surprises are in store for the winners. On August 10, take part in the Holiday 5K/10K Run for Healthy Living in cooperation with the Davao Sunday Runners Club. On August 23-24, experience a world-class fitness seminar by Lawrence Biscontini (for personal trainers, gym instructors and group exercise instructors). For more information, visit their Multiply site at holidaygymspa.multiply.com, email at holidaygymandspa@yahoo.com, or call at 222.3041/222.4207


http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/story.php?id=20647

[Igsuonnimo]

RLC builds 7 BPO sites in provinces


By JAMES A. LOYOLA

Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), the country’s largest office landlord, is developing seven BPO and call center sites this year to expand its office space inventory and give its clients a stronger presence in the provinces.


RLC president Frederick Go said in an interview that while many of these projects are relatively small compared to their projects in Metro Manila, these provincial office spaces give BPOs a chance to relocate to the region of their choice.

He added that these BPO spaces will be built together with new malls and will have about 5,000 square meters of leasable space costing "just a few hundred million pesos."

RLC disclosed earlier that it is allotting R13.9 billin for capital expenditures for 2008 and 2009 of which 40 percent will be used to build new malls while the rest will be for office and residential developments.

To be developed by RLC’s Office Buildings Division in tandem with its Commercial Centers Division, the seven new projects are adapting the mixed use format, a strategy RLC pioneered when it built the Robinsons Galleria Center.

"We are currently incorporating office spaces intended for BPOs and call center operators in our shopping mall developments, specifically Robinsons Luisita in Tarlac City, Robinsons Cybergate Cebu between Cebu’s Chong Hua Hospital and Fuente Osmena," said Henry Yap, Business Unit General Manager for RLC’s Office Buildings Division.

He added that "Robinsons Cybergate Davao, along J. P. Laurel in the Bajada District, and Robinsons Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong City are also under construction and will be ready for occupancy by next year. We are currently accepting lease inquiries for all these properties."

These projects are in addition to two recently completed projects in Robinsons Otis, in Manila and Cybergate Tower 3 in Mandaluyong City – both of which are now ready for occupancy.

BPO and call center firms are rapidly expanding into the provinces due to lower costs of operations, larger manpower pool and lower rate of employee turnover.

In addition, the relatively lower cost of operations in the Philippines have encouraged many firms in the United States and Western Europe to outsource their operations to the Philippines, thereby making these sites even more desirable and lucrative.

"We are also giving these BPOs an opportunity to undertake pioneering efforts in our sites, a move that is very much encouraged and supported by the local government units that hosts our malls and offices buildings," said Yap.

RLC, a leading property developer and landlord of choice, foresees that locators for business process outsourcing and the call center industry in general, are gearing their expansion plans toward key regional urban centers.

"These areas—-Cebu, Davao, Northern Luzon and the Calabarzon areas offer talented and highly skilled human resources sourced from prestigious educational institutions that are highly proficient in English," added Yap.

RLC has built BPOs and call centers in Bacolod, Lipa (Batangas) and Sta. Rosa (Laguna) and Cainta (Rizal). In Metro Manila, in addition to Robinsons Novaliches and two Cybergate Towers within the Forum Robinsons Complex in Mandaluyong City.

RLC is now planning more buildings in the Old Medical City site in Mandaluyong, along Ayala Avenue where a recent joint venture deal was entered into by RLC, Security Land and Taganito Mining Corporation, and in Tacloban where a mall is now under construction.




Manila Bulletin
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20080709129317.html

[kiretoce]

Call center school employs actors to teach would-be agents

At Excel Asia, students brushing up on their English skills are coached not by duly trained language teachers but by theater actors and former television personalities.

The style may deviate from formal call center training schools but Rita Trillo-Ugarte, Excel Asia's founder and president, said her trainer's passion rubs off on the students in a good way, increasing their chances of getting into call centers.

Excel Asia belongs to an emerging crop of "finishing" schools that either train students looking to apply as call center agents or train "near-hires" or those who did not pass applications and looking to give it another crack but would want to improve their language skills.

Ugarte started Excel Asia two years ago in Cebu City and has expanded the business in Metro Manila, opening up its own training facilities.

"Our trainers are not veterans of call centers but stage actors and band members," said Ugarte, herself an industry veteran working for operators ePerformax and SourceOne before putting up Excel Asia.

"When a student walks into class and see our trainers, they already feel inspired by the personalities they see. It helps that our trainers look and speak American because of their heritage but are Filipinos at heart," she said.

Ugarte herself designed the two-week training course, which involves a lot of impromptu role-playing games.

"Most of it involves teamwork and getting students to go onstage," she said, giving credit to her years of experience as a pre-school teacher.

"We try not to teach only English and grammar, but building enough confidence in the student in answering calls. But we do have an English-speaking only policy and we have kicked out people accordingly. We also instill discipline and respect for superiors, which is an ideal scenario in call centers."

Excel Asia also provides similar services to call center operators that regularly send their agents for further training. But outside of corporate training, Ugarte said the company trains new graduates for free which makes for a pool of skilled people awaiting deployment.

The industry has no fixed hiring season, according to Ugarte, but rather depends on operators ramping up their workforce depending on the demand. Excel Asia also trains "near-hires" courtesy of scholarship vouchers from the government.

The company provides agents for around 40 regular customers. Ugarte attributes the company's success to her trainers' passion for helping students get jobs.

"They have genuine care for the students and feel disappointed themselves when some do not pass their applications. They even give students enough fare just so they can continue with their training," she said.

[kiretoce]

Philippines tries to edge out India for U.S. outsourcing jobs

Employee cutbacks in the US force firms to shift overseas, creating as many as 600,000 new jobs for Filipinos.

For investors in the US, the economic wobbles of recent months could spell the onslaught of a recession. But from his skyscraper office in downtown Manila, Danilo Sebastian Reyes, the president of Sitel, a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm that employs some 2,000 people in the Philippines, sees the beginning of boom time.

As fuel and food costs continue to soar, forcing corporate cutbacks, more American businesses are looking to save by outsourcing portions of their business abroad. "For the last three months, there's been an accelerated number of companies that have decided to go into the Philippines," says Mr. Reyes.

That means more overseas workers from India to Poland will be fielding calls for Citibank credit card customers or remotely managing Hewlett Packard's human resources tasks. The Philippines, with some of the highest literacy rates and cheapest wages in Asia, is positioning itself to capture 10 percent of the world's back office work by 2010, which analysts predict will balloon to a $130 billion industry.

Shifting overseas could be a win-win, saving American companies 20 to 40 percent off their bottom line and creating as many as 600,000 new jobs for Filipinos, according to estimates by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Corporate giants like America Online and Texas Instruments have been shifting call centers and other back office functions to the Philippines since 2001.

The BPO market has grown by nearly 50 percent a year in the past three years alone, generating nearly $5 billion in revenue last year. That's still only a fraction of the business that India – the global market leader – captures.

But the Philippines is catching up, and today employs some 320,000 people in the sector, where starting salaries average $5,500 a year. That amount is a far cry from the $30,000 an American employee might make, but it's double the national average in the Philippines, according to the ADB.

The outsourcing boom is welcome news for the Philippines, whose economy is otherwise in need of a boost. Last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded the country's economic growth forecast for 2008 to 5.2 percent from 5.8 percent, saying the global economic downturn and rising consumer costs will push inflation into the double digits in coming months. Unemployment, meanwhile, rose to 8 percent in April, up from 7.4 percent in January.

Responding to the IMF, the Central Bank of the Philippines recently cited the BPO market as an economic engine that can keep the country's growth on target. The BPO market's strength, analysts say, highlights efficient partnerships between the public and private sector.

For example, the government has worked closely with private industry to nurture growth, creating scholarships for college graduates to entice them into the market and allocating $500 million for infrastructure that will effectively sprout whole new cities and suburbs in a 600-mile-long 'CyberServices Corridor' throughout the country.

Many are questioning, however, whether the US economic downturn will benefit the Philippines only so much before it starts to hurt.

So far this year, US employers have already cut 80,000 jobs. The US economic slowdown has had a negative impact on the Philippines, which is the US's largest trading partner. Fewer Americans with money to spend means Filipino exports have slumped by 11 percent in the first four months of the year.

Still, Astro Del Castillo, a financial analyst, sees a bright future ahead for the BPO market. He contends that while Filipino exports might be affected, outsourcing will withstand the blows to the US economy.

"Our exposure to the US is around 17 to 20 percent of our exports. It's not much ... really," says Mr. Castillo. Many American companies have asked him to pencil out the potential savings to be made by outsourcing to the Philippines. "They're interested. It's a cost-cutting measure for them," he adds.

Others are less optimistic. As Donald Felbaum, the treasurer of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines in Manila, puts it: "The short term is good for the Philippines. In the long term, if this continues, all budgeting would be affected."

[dinabaw]

Business plan making contest launched
Published: June 20, 2008

Davao City-The launching of a Dutch-funded business plan making competition was held here to encourage more Mindanaoans to participate in the contest.

Business in Development(BiD) Challenge 2008 is both a business plan making contest and a matchmaking mechanism that provides a forum for entrepreneurs and investors to come together. It is meant to spur innovation in small and medium scale enterprises; and stimulate transfer of wealth, knowledge and skills for these business enterprises.

BiD is funded by the Dutch national committee for international cooperation and sustainable development (NCDO), the main civil society promoting the millennium development goals in the Netherlands. In turn, the NCDO is fully funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Philippine BiD Challenge country manager Rene M. Fortuno said there are not enough participants in Mindanao that is why they came to campaign for more entries from the island.

He said that the plan could be a start up business or an expansion and must be profitable in the next three years with funding requirements from 420,000 pesos to 4.2 million pesos. It has to double its sales and employment within three years and must meet social and environmental requirements.

BiD aims to promote poverty reduction in developing countries through their profit-generation programs. It aims to engage with Dutch companies and their employees in initiatives for market-oriented sustainable development.

According to Fortunato, two participants made it to the international competition in the Netherlands in 2007, Gene Bonggo for tire recycling and Romy Miranda of King’s Grill for the coconut based charcoal briquette project.

The opportunity, Fortunato said, gave the winners a chance to meet investors and promote their product that brought in fresh investment and new markets for the two firms.

Fortunato explained that about 50 to 75 of the most innovative and most feasible proposals will be chosen from among the entries this year. Professional coaching shall be extended to the proponents of these proposals so they can develop these into solid, bankable and full blown business plans and better participation in the investment matching forum.

The best ten of business plans will be awarded seed capital from a pool of prize money while the top two will be represented in the International Challenge in Amsterdarm in the Netherlands along with 11 other participating countries.

The international winner will receive 20,000 euros.

Aside from the Philippines, other countries participating in the BiD Challenge are India, Columbia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Tansania. (PIA)

http://davaotoday.com/2008/06/20/bus...test-launched/

[MtApoStandard]

>>

[dinabaw]

2008/07/11

Call center investors want to invest in Davao City

by Prix D Banzon

Davao City (11 July) -- Although there are some areas which Davao City needs to address in doing business in the city, both the government and the private sectors are one in saying that more call center investors are interested in investing in Davao City.

Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) executive director Conrado Hernaez, Jr. said that with the good human resource available in the region investors are attracted to come and operate.

Davao City government administrator lawyer Wendel Avisado in a separate interview said the entry of call centers and other industries only indicate that the city remains a good choice for business operation.

Avisado cited the result of the 2007 Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project where Davao City was among the rated metro cities of the country. Davao City ranked first in the Cost of Doing Business and Infrastructure, ranked third in the Responsiveness of the Local Government to Business needs, ranked fourth in Dynamism and Local Economy, and ranked seventh in Human Resource and Training and Quality of Life. 20 lgus competed in this category.

He said current figure of the city showed that about 30,000 establishments registered at the Business Bureau to operate business here.

"Whether we like it or not it seems that they are attracted here to do business," he said.

He said big retail groups like Robinson's is already undertaking ground works for their supermarket business while real estate developers are pushing their projects in our city like condoniums, resort, middle and high end subdivisions.

Hernaez meanwhile said that they will continue to partner with the city government even as he said that proposals and resolutions will be submitted to the government authorities for them to consider so that both sector could improve the business climate of the city.

During the 8th Davao City Business Conference yesterday, July 11, 2008 at the Davao Convention and Trade Center, key players in the business sector will also asked the city chief executive about the five resolutions they submitted last year on the same forum.

Hernaez said of the five resolutions, they expect that the city government to act on the four resolutions.

Meanwhile 11 resolutions will be turned over to the City Mayor of Davao which was the result of the series of focus group discussion among various sectors of the business community.

The resolutions focuses among others on the re-assessment of zoning plan, comprehensive and integrated marketing plan, improvement of drainage system, good manufacturing practices or food safety management standards for food handlers, comprehensive information communications and technology master plan, comprehensive tourism master plan, waste management and corporate social responsibility initiatives, development and improvement of the Davao port facilities, conversion of the old Davao International Airport Terminal to International Air Cargo, Logistics and Trade Center, and to convert the Davao River into a water highway. (PIA)

http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p0807...R11&y=07&mo=12

[Peng Hok]

Originally Posted by dinabaw

2008/07/11

Call center investors want to invest in Davao City

by Prix D Banzon


"Whether we like it or not it seems that they are attracted here to do business," he said.

Period.

[dinabaw]

meron ata akong alam na place na "whether you like it or else "

how's watson wats btw?