The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the P143.4-million contact center project of Optum Global Solutions (Philippines) Inc., which is focused on Healthcare Information Management Services (HIMS).
The attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it has given a stamp of approval for the certificate for registration of Optum’s project.
The BOI said the contact center project in Cebu, which will start operations soon, will boost the growing HIMS sector in the Philippines. The country is targeting to become Asia’s hub for Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) services.
The project will provide the following services: information technology services, such as coding services, testing services maintenance services, and help desk troubleshooting support; call center services, such as inbound inbound and outbound calls; and back-office operations including transaction processing, clinical process services, analytics services, trending and reporting.
“The approval of this project in Cebu City proves that we are persistent in our efforts to enhance the growth of the country’s IT-BPM industry, particularly the HIMS sector,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said in a statement.
“We are further advancing the IT-BPM industry, and this is just the beginning of more investments being injected into the country’s economy. We are on track to making more investment opportunities happen in the Philippines.”
The BOI said the company initially adopt a hybrid work arrangement.
It is expected to generate 350 full-time direct and indirect jobs for Filipinos during the first year of its operation and onwards.
The government expects the proposed project to contribute to easing the poverty incidence in Cebu City, which was estimated at 26.9 percent as of 2021.
The BOI said the company picked the Philippines as the site for its new project because of the Filipino workforce that is recognized as competitive with high technical skills and a level of English proficiency.
The attached agency of the DTI said the company has seven Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) registered projects in Taguig City, Quezon City, Cebu City, and Muntinlupa City. The company is a service provider and is engaged in the provision of HIMS, such as IT Services and IT-enabled Services, servicing solely to its affiliate, Optum Technology, LLC (OT) – a US subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group Inc.
The BOI and the Department of Trade and Industry have been promoting the IT-BPM industry to increase the country’s export earnings, as it has been the biggest job creator with a strong multiplier effect, a revenue earner, and driver of domestic demand.
As of 2021, the HIMS industry accounts for a 10.3 percent share (around $3.1 billion in revenues), providing jobs to over 200,000 Filipinos. The BOI said the pandemic did not hamper the positive outlook for the country’s HIMS industry, as revenues are projected to grow by 7.3 percent to 10 percent in 2022.
The BOI also noted that the sector is a top industry destination for US investors in the Philippines. In fact, according to the BOI, for the last 10 years, the local HIMS sector has attracted global investors, increasing the number of industry players to over 400 companies, including small and medium-sized players.
