e-Services Philippines 2007 to signal shift of Philippines from BPO to KPO

The e-Services Philippines (ESP) 2007 conference and exhibition, the annual flagship show of the Philippines for the IT and IT-enabled services sector is highlighting the shift of the Philippines to high value knowledge-based outsourcing.

The event will take place February 15-16, 2007, at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City.

"Unlike the previous events, ESP 2007 has been upgraded as a response to the industry’s more aggressive requirements. We are seeing local players moving from low-end processes to look for niches higher up in the value chain. We intend ESP 2007 to be the event that can help them move from BPO to knowledge process outsourcing (KPO)— and actually get there," Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) assistant secretary Felicitas Agoncillo-Reyes announced.

Agoncillo-Reyes is also the executive director of the Center for Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the DTI’s export promotions arm.

Now on its 7th year, the ESP conference and exhibition has been hailed as an important IT and IT-enabled services (ITES) outsourcing show in the region.

For the past six years, the event has served to promote the Philippines as a preferred venue for IT outsourcing by attracting foreign investors and global trade missions. Last year’s event generated at least US$23.5 million in new contracts.

ESP 2007 will feature an exhibition; a CEO Forum that will discuss such topics as "The Global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Outlook" from both the CEO and the analyst’s perspectives, "The Next Level: Knowledge Process Outsourcing" and "BPO Best Practices" by speakers who will talk about the different BPO business models.

Some of the CEO Forum speakers that have confirmed include Ralph Schonenbach, CEO of Trestle Group, who will present his insights on how focused companies can successfully move up the value chain.

David Barrett, Simmons & Simmons partner and global head of Communications, Outsourcing and Technology, on the other hand, is set to present winning strategies in privacy, security and other challenges in international business.

"There will be five sector tracks intended to identify market niches for the IT and ITES sectors. These tracks include: IT Outsourcing, Health Information Management, Business Venture and Investment, BPO-KPO, and Creative e-Services," Agoncillo-Reyes explained.

The 2007 event will also be the first edition of the conference and exhibition that CITEM is aggressively promoting in Asia. In past years, marketing communications have primarily targeted North American and EU markets. "It is our aim to sell ESP 2007 as a platform where both buyers and providers from all over Asia as well as our traditional markets can converge and explore business opportunities," said Agoncillo-Reyes."We are upping our promotional efforts at an opportune time when the local IT and ITES sectors are starting to move from straightforward BPO to knowledge process outsourcing, providing higher-value services to the global market."

According to Agoncillo-Reyes, the capabilities of the Philippines’ outsourcing services providers have greatly improved as a result of competition and collaboration. "The Philippines is already a strong contender in the global outsourcing market. This time, CITEM intends ESP 2007 to signal to the rest of the region the arrival of the Philippines on the KPO scene. "The KPO wave is already being felt in the Philippines. "

The success of the outsourced and captive contact centers, followed by the fast growth of the back-office processing and shared services industry that supports multinational companies from the Philippines had paved the way for new opportunities," said Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) president Dan Reyes.

Thus, "providers that used to offer only basic finance and accounting services like data encoding and document verification are now providing more complex and analytical processes such as financial capability assessment for mortgage companies, for example."

"The annual e-Services Philippines exhibition and conference provides a showcase for the Philippines’ KPO and BPO capabilities. The event enjoys broad industry support because it has been instrumental in the success of our promotional efforts," Reyes said. "e-Services gives potential clients a reason to come to the Philippines, and while here learn what the Philippines can offer at the exhibition and conference, and actually explore business opportunities and strategic partnerships with local providers in the investment track and through business matching."

For information on e-Services Philippines, please contact:CITEM, IT Services and Electronics Division T: (+632) 8325044 & (+632) 8312201 locals 212, 251, and 301www.e-servicesphils.com

Source:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/1/prweb501170.htm

SME exports reached $281M in 06, says DTI

SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED EXPORTERS earned a total of $281 million in 2006, or one percent higher than the $278.2 million posted the previous year, according to Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila.

Favila said earnings were made through 32 trade fairs and missions with the Department of Trade and Industrys Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions.

Favila said the export promotion effort helped 1,876 small and medium enterprises in strengthening their presence in priority markets like the United States, Europe, Japan and the Middle East, as well as in opening up new markets for them.

The governments targeted marketing approach for 2006, as well as niche marketing of Philippine value-added products have helped strengthen our core competencies in exports, Favila said.

In last years campaign, Citem showcased seven sectors including furniture, houseware and holiday decor industry, which accounted for $134 million of the total; food, with $88 million; information technology and IT-enabled services, with $32 million; and organic and natural products, with $19 million.

One of Citems flagship programs, e-Services Philippines, generated $20.74 million in sales, attracting 1,678 local and foreign visitors.

Also, the Manila FAME International fair for furnishings, houseware, holiday decor and fashion accessories, generated $108.62 million.

The International Food Exhibition Philippines, or Ifex, posted $80 million in sales, with best-selling fresh and frozen fish, sardines, frozen fruits and vegetables, octopus, meat preparations like ham and sausage, processed fruits like banana chips and dried fruit cocktail, coffee and cocoa, cookies and crackers, and cereal preparations such as cake and polvoron.

The National Trade Fair for subcontractors organized with the help of Product Development and Design Center of the Philippines, and SME Development Group raked in P86 million from products made by 194 SMEs based in the provinces.

"We hope to build on our gains in export promotions last year and continue with more high level missions, and target high-value opportunities and new markets, especially in growth industries like IT and IT-enabled services to further boost our exports," Favila said.

Source:
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 24, 2007 (Wednesday)
by Ronnel W. Domingo

DTI’s export promotion arm bares overseas projects to boost SMEs

The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is preparing to explore more market opportunities abroad for the country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

For 2007, the agency is targeting 23 trade fairs and missions in markets like United States, Europe, Japan, China, and the Middle East. “We want to encourage more business activities for our SMEs and pave the way for these businesses to try out new markets abroad,” according to Trade Assistant Secretary Fe Agoncillo-Reyes, also executive director of CITEM.

For the IT and IT-enabled services, CITEM’s trade promotion program will cover sending delegations to the following fairs Software Development Expo & Conference (Japan), CommunicAsia (Singapore), American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Convention & Exhibition (US), and Asian Games Developers Summit (Singapore). The agency is also considering sending a business mission to the United States (New York, Washington, and Florida), and the United Kingdom.

For the design-driven sector such as fine jewelry, furniture and houseware, the overseas projects include participation to Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, Salone Internationale del Mobile (Italy), Interior Lifestyle Exhibition (Japan), Hong Kong Fashion Week, Houseware and Gift Fair South America (Brazil), Tokyo International Gift Show (Japan), Maison et Objet (France), and Index Dubai.

For food and health and wellness, trade promotion includes the following fair participation in FMI Chicago, Asean Health and Wellness Exhibition and Asean Food and Beverage Exhibition to be held in Japan, and Anuga (Germany). A food mission to Gulf states is also scheduled, which will include Oman, Kuwait, UAE, and Qatar.

CITEM will also spearhead the country’s participation to the following events Solo Exhibition in Russia for processed food, giftware and home furnishing; China Education Expo for education services, China-ASEAN Expo for consumer goods, and Big 5 Dubai for construction services and materials.

“We want to work closely with all sectors and send business delegations for market research and business opportunities,” added Agoncillo-Reyes. She also added that the trade fair participation abroad and trade missions are meant to showcase the capabilities of the Philippines across all sectors and network with businesses abroad.

In 2005, CITEM generated US$278.18 million in export sales and PhP 272.29 million in domestic returns. The agency also assisted about 2,037 SMEs and private corporations for the same period.

CITEM said that in 2007, the agency hopes to work with other government institutions and partners in a bid to synergize trade and tourism country promotion.
Locally, CITEM will continue to organize marketing activities through international shows such as e-Services Philippines (IT/BPO), Manila F.A.M.E. International (design-driven products), International Food Exhibition Philippines/BIO-Search (food/marine products/organic products), and International Arts and Crafts Expo (creative industries).

ASEAN electronics reverse trade fair earns US$5M

A total of US$5 million worth of business deals was generated in the recent ASEAN reverse trade fair for electronics joined by multinational and homegrown companies within the region, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) reported.

Seventy-eight electronics suppliers were matched with multinational and homegrown electronics companies, such as First Sumiden, Sharp Philippines, Fastech Synergy, Texas Instruments, PSI Technologies, Inc., Team Pacific Corporation, Pricon Microelectronics, Inc., GMV Materials, Inc., Integrated Microelectronics, Inc., Analog Devices Philippines, Inc., Temic Automotive Philippines, Inc., and Fujitsu Computer Products of the Philippines.

“AE-BOEC’s reverse trade fair was conducted to become a premier meeting place for ASEAN buyers in the electronics supply chain. It also aims to boost the region’s trade and increase outsourcing through a single production and supply base for electronics,” said Assistant Secretary and CITEM Executive Director Fe Agoncillo-Reyes.

The AE-BOEC is organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the trade promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry, and in cooperation with the Board of Investments (BOI) Business Development Team for Electronics, the ASEAN Electronics Forum, and Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI).

“Philippine electronics companies have strong potential, they are capable to compete globally amidst limited resources,” said Franki Li of Mobicon Enterprises, one of the supplier delegates of the event.

Phnom Penh Sez Co., Ltd of Cambodia and Indonesian Board of Investment received inquiries from prospective locators as well as business matching from the Philippines and other ASEAN countries.

Eight procurement officials from top ASEAN electronics companies discussed their purchasing programs and shared information on how potential ASEAN suppliers can be accredited and seize contracts.

The event was opened by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, BOI Governor and ASEAN Electronics Forum Chairman Francis Ferrer, and DTI Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Elmer Hernandez.

In 2005, total trade of ASEAN approximately reached 397 billion US dollars in the electronics sector, of which 24 percent is recorded as intra-ASEAN trade.

ASEAN is home to about 4,000 electronics firms. Global giants of the industry like Texas Instruments, Intel, Solectron, Flextronics, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sharp, Sanmina, Celestica, to name a few also have strong presence in the region.

Philippine companies in Middle East food mission earn US$ 4M

The Philippine Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the food industry, during the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Roadshow and Food Mission in the Middle East last November 17-26, generated US$ 4 million in export sales, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) said.

Giant companies in the Middle East food sector like Federal Foods, Shankai Trading Company, JM Foods, Barth Trading Company, Al Murfa, T. Choithram & Sons, and Oryx Marketing & Trading International are some of the buyers that showed interest in Philippine products. Many of these prospective clients are also interested in visiting IFEX May 2007 to meet more Filipino exporters.

“Philippine companies met numerous potential buyers in their various meetings with the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain,” Trade Assistant Secretary and CITEM Executive Director Felicitas Agoncillo-Reyes commented.

During the roadshow promotion, which is dubbed as ‘IFEX Philippines Goes to the Middle East,’ the Philippine delegation also met with the Food Control Office of the Dubai Municipality and the Bahrain Food Health Control Office, where they were briefed on the rules on labeling, packaging, and Arabic translation of the ingredients, manufacturing date, and expiration date.

Also, the participating SMEs have visited all the leading supermarkets/hypermarkets of the Middle East countries and were able to appraise how their respective products are performing in terms of price, packaging, labeling, and promotion strategy as against their competitors. It was observed that Filipino food products such as soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, fish and shrimp paste or bagoong, food base mixes, crackers, and nata de coco are present in all of the small and large stores in these countries.

Participants that joined the mission include Florence Foods Corporation (fruit preserves, marine products, virgin coconut oil, noodles, frozen root crops and vegetables); Monde Nissin Corporation (biscuits, cookies, cookie sandwich, cracker sandwich, pastry type, wafers); Q-Phil Products International (noodles, condiments and sauces, bottled sweet preserves); RFM Corporation (recado mixes, native cake mixes, pasta spaghetti sauce, noodles, fruit drinks, flavored milk, ice cream, canned. processed meat); Philippine Grocers Food Exports Inc. (assorted food products); Republic Biscuit Corporation (biscuits, cakes, seeds, wafers, candies, snack items) and; W.L. Food Products/Sam Lim Corporation (corn snacks, fried green peas, coated peanuts).

“Buyers from the Gulf States showed high interest in Philippine products. The Filipino communities based in the Arab world are also a ready market for us, “ Agoncillo-Reyes added. “Statistics shows that Kuwait has some 130,000 Filipinos, Bahrain has 30,000, Qatar has 74,000, while U.A.E. has 100,000 Filipinos.”

Furthermore, the members of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry also expressed their interest towards expanding the areas of bilateral cooperation to include sectors in construction, engineering, architectures, designs, power and energy, transportation, IT, and communications. The Chambers reported that the GCC economies are at their highest peaks and therefore in best positions to offer business opportunities for the Philippines in these industry sectors.

“I believe that this year’s IFEX Roadshow and Food Mission to these 4 GCC countries was a huge success. The mission’s objective of sustaining the expanding presence of Philippine food exports in these markets, as well as the goal to strengthen the image of the Philippines as a reliable supplier of imports, is well accomplished,” said Agoncillo-Reyes.

The IFEX Roadshow promotion was organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), in cooperation with the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the Philippine Embassies in Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.