MANILA - The Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO) industry expects revenues to dip in the fourth quarter, as American consumer demand could weaken as a result of the US government shutdown that began yesterday.
"In terms of volumes of calls, affected American consumers may be not buying, not transacting. These are the calls going to the Philippines," Jose Mari P. Mercado, president of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), told reporters today.
US laws forbid the outsourcing of federal work, but American legislators' failure to pass a new budget sent 800,000 government employees on unpaid leave starting yesterday.
Philippine call center volumes from the US usually climb by a quarter during the "ber" months on increased business transactions accompanying holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, Mercado said.
While it is "too early to tell" how much the impact would be, reduced call volumes may eventually temper BPO firms' revenues, he said.
US clients account for two-thirds of BPO work done in the Philippines. The country's sunrise BPO industry is one of the key sources of foreign exchange earnings, which along with remittances have insulated the Philippines from the recent volatility in foreign investment flows.
Mercado said the BPO industry however is "not scared" of the shutdown, which he expects the US government to resolve soon.
"It will be fixed in a week's time. They cannot afford to remain shut down for a long time," he said.
Paul Townsend, general manager of the Philippine BPO operations of US-based Capital One Financial Corporation, said, "We do not see the shutdown impacting on our business in the Philippines.
Capital One only recently opened its BPO operations in Manila.
source: interaksyon.com
