MAKATI CITY, Philippines — Outsourced customer support service firm Sitel remained optimistic that business will still pour in from the United States amid the economic slowdown, an executive told reporters.

“The slowdown is an opportunity for us to tap the off-shoring business,” said Sitel Philippines Corp. president Dan Reyes, in the sidelines of the International ICT Awards Philippines 2008, where Sitel Philippines Corp. was named “BPO Company of the Year.”

Operating 23 sites in the US and six offshore sites in the country, Reyes said the Philippines remained a destination for offshore outsourcing services for US companies because it offers an “economic advantage” over other markets.

“Companies in the US realized that the Philippines can provide quality service and not just cost arbitrage,” he said.     Read more