Top Indian IT firm opens Cebu BPO center

Wipro Technologies, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, opened its first business process outsourcing (BPO) center in Cebu City.

T.K. Kurien, Wipro BPO president, said they chose Cebu as a location because of availability of highly skilled local talent.

"The Philippines is one of the largest English-speaking nations and with a talent pool of 29 million," Kurien said. "This is one location that we definitely want to expand our presence in."

He added that the establishment of the firm's presence in the country was part of its strategy to build global delivery capabilities.

Wipro BPO's service offerings cover banking and capital markets, insurance, travel and hospitality, hi-tech manufacturing, telecom and healthcare sectors as well as finance and accounting, procurement, HR services, loyalty services and knowledge services.

The executive said the Bangalore based Wipro planned to hire 900 employees for the 45,000-square-foot Cebu facility, which will handle customer support.

Kurien added that Wipro was also looking at putting up additional centers in other fast-growing cities in the Philippines.

Citing a recent study made by investment advisory firm Tholons, Wipro noted that Manila was among the top five prime outsourcing destinations in the world and Cebu ranked No. 4 among emerging global destinations for outsourced processes.

Wipro said the study showed that emerging cities such as Cebu would play an even bigger role in the BPO industry as companies looked for qualified talents, which are fast dwindling in traditional destinations.