Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) will develop seven BPO and call-center sites this year, expanding the company’s office space inventory and regional presence.

“We are currently incorporating office spaces intended for BPOs and call-center operators in our shopping mall developments, specifically Robinsons Luisita in Tarlac City, Robinsons Cybergate Cebu between Cebu’s Chong Hua Hospital and Fuente Osmena.“ says Henry Yap, business unit general manager for office buildings division at RLC.

“Robinsons Cybergate Davao, on J. P. Laurel in the Bajada District, and Robinsons Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong City are also under construction and will be ready for occupancy by next year. “We are currently accepting lease inquiries for all these properties.”

These projects are in addition to two recently completed projects in Robinsons Otis, in Manila and Cybergate Tower 3 in Mandaluyong City.

BPO and call-center firms are rapidly expanding into the regions due to lower costs of operations, larger manpower pool and lower rate of employee turnover. The relatively lower cost of operations in the Philippines have encouraged many firms in the United States and Western Europe to outsource their operations to the Philippines, thereby making these sites even more desirable and lucrative.

RLC, a leading property developer and landlord of choice, expects locators for business process outsourcing and the call-center industry are gearing their expansion plans toward key regional urban centers. “These areas—Cebu, Davao, Northern Luzon and the Calabarzon—offer talented and highly skilled human resources sourced from prestigious educational institutions that are highly proficient in English,” said Yap. It will be recalled that the RLC sites were among the cities outside of Metro Manila identified by a study done by Institute for Development and Economic Analysis Inc.

RLC has built BPOs and call centers in Bacolod, Lipa (Batangas) and Sta. Rosa (Laguna) and Cainta (Rizal).  

Subscriber take-up healthy—Globe

TELECOMMUNICATIONS company, Globe Telecom, said subscriber take-up in the second quarter was generally “healthy” despite an observed slowdown in consumption spending brought by the effect of inflation resulting from higher-petroleum prices.

Smart offers phone service for seafarers

A NETWORK facility that will allow seafarers to use their GSM (global system for mobile communications) handsets even while in the middle of the ocean is expected to be available by end-2008.

Metro Pacific, Basic Energy set sights on ethanol venture

METRO Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Basic Energy Corp. (BEC) for a potential partnership engaged in ethanol production.

FPHC portions out preferred share sale proceeds

ABOUT $12.9 million (roughly P561.5 million) have already been disbursed by First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPHC) from the P4.3 billion in proceeds generated from the sale of preferred shares in April.

Robinsons Land to develop 7 BPO sites

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) will develop seven BPO and call-center sites this year, expanding the company’s office space inventory and regional presence.

Not Business as Usual: A peso premium in the black market

Did you know 1: The black-market price for the dollar is now a peso higher than whatever banks are officially quoting. You see, there’s a great demand for dollars to pay for imported petroleum products and rice.