What's the big deal with call centers in the Philippines
As I imagine the point of view of a fresh College graduate in the Philippines, call centers do not exactly seem like a prestigious choice for work. It's really about the salary. Work is hard, hours are tough and it's hard to call it fulfilling. But there are hordes of Filipinos signing up and taking home a lot more money than they could before. Notably, Filipinos turn out to be really good at customer service thanks to our general politeness and fluency in the kind of English Americans use - something that matters since most clients are American. It turns out there's a practical side to our obsession with American movies, television and music. We can answer their phones. While that's not glamorous, it's a humongous part of the Philippines' recent economic renaissance.
I'm all for a common sense approach so this may seem like a simplistic analysis. With more than just a mob of young Filipinos getting what is arguably excellent pay for local standards, there's a lot of other businesses that will indirectly benefit. The most obvious for me is food, fast food. Look at any large call center office and let me guess what is a stone's throw away - the golden arches, Jollibee, KFC, Chowking etc. Then again there's also most mall-based businesses and the real estate sector that will stand to gain.
But that isn't really why it matters. It's the sheer mind boggling size of the industry that was completely non-existent prior to high speed internet. Dubbed the "sunshine industry," I've seen a couple reports that the BPO industry will bring in $25 billion in revenue next year (2016). This may be equal to the remittances of overseas Filipino workers - long hailed as the reason why the Philippines hasn't fallen short of foreign currency reserves and why the Philippine economy hasn't spiraled into doom. To put things into perspective, there's 11 million Filipino nursers, sailors, musicians, janitors, etc. working overseas and faithfully sending money home. Now all of a sudden there's another industry equal to that.
There is reportedly a bazillion jobs that will be created. This fills the pockets of young people with cash - loads of it when aggregated.
A good question is: what would they buy? where would they spend it? Another obvious place is the convenience store. Recall the recent entry of Family Mart amid what seems to be a crowded place with mini stop and 7-11 rivaling our population growth. There are also rumors that Lawson (a Japanese convenience store) is joining in the fun.
What do young people buy at these places? Load perhaps. Iced tea and crackers?
So all this leaves me with a lot to ponder for common sense trading. I also think that the big boys are way ahead in determining where all this cash will go.
For me, this is enough to give me more confidence in some of my already favorite stock picks like:
BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands)
BDO (Banco de Oro)
ALI (Ayala Land Inc)
MEG (Megaworld)
TEL (PLDT)
URC (Universal Robina)
JFC (Jollibee Food Corp)
sources:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-philippines-economy-20150202-story.html#page=1
http://www.philstar.com/business/2015/02/10/1421942/bright-prospects-bpo-industry
I'm all for a common sense approach so this may seem like a simplistic analysis. With more than just a mob of young Filipinos getting what is arguably excellent pay for local standards, there's a lot of other businesses that will indirectly benefit. The most obvious for me is food, fast food. Look at any large call center office and let me guess what is a stone's throw away - the golden arches, Jollibee, KFC, Chowking etc. Then again there's also most mall-based businesses and the real estate sector that will stand to gain.
But that isn't really why it matters. It's the sheer mind boggling size of the industry that was completely non-existent prior to high speed internet. Dubbed the "sunshine industry," I've seen a couple reports that the BPO industry will bring in $25 billion in revenue next year (2016). This may be equal to the remittances of overseas Filipino workers - long hailed as the reason why the Philippines hasn't fallen short of foreign currency reserves and why the Philippine economy hasn't spiraled into doom. To put things into perspective, there's 11 million Filipino nursers, sailors, musicians, janitors, etc. working overseas and faithfully sending money home. Now all of a sudden there's another industry equal to that.
There is reportedly a bazillion jobs that will be created. This fills the pockets of young people with cash - loads of it when aggregated.
A good question is: what would they buy? where would they spend it? Another obvious place is the convenience store. Recall the recent entry of Family Mart amid what seems to be a crowded place with mini stop and 7-11 rivaling our population growth. There are also rumors that Lawson (a Japanese convenience store) is joining in the fun.
What do young people buy at these places? Load perhaps. Iced tea and crackers?
So all this leaves me with a lot to ponder for common sense trading. I also think that the big boys are way ahead in determining where all this cash will go.
For me, this is enough to give me more confidence in some of my already favorite stock picks like:
BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands)
BDO (Banco de Oro)
ALI (Ayala Land Inc)
MEG (Megaworld)
TEL (PLDT)
URC (Universal Robina)
JFC (Jollibee Food Corp)
sources:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-philippines-economy-20150202-story.html#page=1
http://www.philstar.com/business/2015/02/10/1421942/bright-prospects-bpo-industry
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