BPO, animation and communication infrastructure industries to fuel growth oppurtunities for Philippines ICT, says IDC

March 22, 2004

Manila, March 22, 2004 – Although the Philippines relatively trails behind its neighboring countries in terms of IT adoption, with its economic situation improving overtime and stronger commitment in promoting itself as an ICT hub, IDC believes that significant business opportunities lie ahead in the country's ICT industry.

According to the Inroads to Philippine ICT Market study published by IDC, which aims to provide a reference guide to potential investors and existing industry players interested in the market fundamentals and position of the Philippines in the international ICT arena, the Philippine economy is set to sustain its growth in the coming years, helped by the stronger output of IT-related businesses.

The ICT industry has long been recognized by the government as one of the key factors that will enable the country to gain competitive advantage in the global arena. Thus, efforts to champion the ICT adoption in the Philippines have been undertaken by the government, some of which were the call center initiatives, eCommerce law, egovernment fund, and the Community eCenter program. In addition, IT hub areas were identified in major cities, and policies have been designed to liberalize the telco environment in the country.

With these initiatives, more and more investors are looking at the possibilities of investing in the country as well as benchmarking the country along with its neighboring countries. The report discusses the country's position in terms of becoming an information society, measuring in terms of the four major pillars as defined by the Information Society Index (ISI), namely computer infrastructure, information infrastructure, internet infrastructure, and social infrastructure.

The Information Society Index (ISI) ranks the Philippines 45th among 55 nations analyzed. With the country's digital divide, its large pool of IT-skilled professionals, and its being number one in terms of short message service (SMS) usage in the world, were not enough to lift the country's position. However, even if the Philippines is generally ranked lower than the rest of the world, there are still market opportunities for vendors to offer basic IT infrastructures in the country.

Jubert Daniel Alberto, Market Analyst, IDC Philippines, however, says that huge opportunities for expansion and adoption still paint a very good picture for potential investors and existing market players. "Specific sectors that are expected to fuel growth opportunities include BPO, animation and communication infrastructure", he added. Like the call center and telco industries which have shown remarkable growths in the past years, the animation industry continues to exhibit a considerable potential in making the country a leading outsourcing hub for animation players overseas.

For more information about purchasing the research, please contact Hazmi at +603-2169-7526 or hyusof@idc.com. For press enquiries, please contact Stephen Chong at +603-2169-7521 or ckchong@idc.com.

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Chong Chee Kian
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Tel: +603-2169-7521
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