AYALA CORP. WANTS TO INVEST more in the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry to ride on the sector’s booming prospects over the next few years.

Alfred Ayala, president of the group’s BPO holding arm Live It Solutions Inc., said they were in preliminary talks with several firms after successfully spending $200 million to acquire outsourcing companies over the last three years.

“There’s nothing formal yet,” he said.

“We don’t have a specific [budget for acquisitions] anymore, but we’re definitely looking. It’s more opportunistic at this point,” Ayala said. (more…)

The 4th Annual International ICT Awards Philippines 2010 recently gave recognition to the Philippine site of Sutherland Global Services, a leading New York-based multinational Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider operating in the country since 2005, as the industry’s “Fastest Growing BPO Company of the Year”. Sutherland was also one of the five finalists in the category “BPO Company of the Year”.

The award is seen as recognition of Sutherland’s accelerated expansion in six sites across the country and its generation of sizeable local employment opportunities, benefiting more than 10,000 Filipinos in less than five years. Sutherland’s expansion in the Philippines has been fuelled by continued growth in the company’s existing outsourcing engagements as well as the addition of several new clients.

“Our company is truly humbled and grateful but this award really belongs to our Filipino workforce who continue to amaze us every day with their honest and hardworking ways,” said Craig Bauwens, Sutherland vice president and Philippines country manager who received the award during the recently concluded awarding ceremonies held at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati together with Emily Magtibay, Sutherland’s first employee in the Philippines. (more…)