Emerging business process outsourcing (BPO) player, Stream Global Services, has stirred optimism for the local industry with its plans to expand operations to eventually become one of the country’s top private sector employer.

The recent merger between NYSE-listed Stream Global Services and Ayala-backed eTelecare Global Solutions has been touted to have created one of the largest and most competitive companies in the global BPO industry in the Philippines. Stream provides sales, customer service and technical support for some of the most well-known global companies, from its 50 contact centers across 22 countries. It manages more than 100 million voice, email, and chat contacts a year from customers around the world.

Murray said that Stream will be investing significantly more in the Philippines this year. Site evaluations are also underway for expanding its current presence in the region. The company currently employs approximately 12,000 at eight sites in the country: two in Quezon City, two in Cebu and one each in Makati, Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa and Clark, Pampanga.

Stream’s expansion plans are in line with the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) forecast of a 26 percent growth in the BPO industry as economies recover from the recent global financial downturn.

According to the BPAP, the industry netted some US$7.3 billion in revenues in 2009, meeting its target annual growth projections of 20 percent despite initial anxieties over a decline in demand for outsourcing services due to financial straits in investor countries.

BPAP said the industry workforce similarly expanded by about 19 percent to 446,000 at the end of 2009 compared to the previous year. The Department of Trade and Industry predicts growth in employment numbers to between 650,000 to 900,000 at yearend. “We’re here to build a business of size,” said Murray, adding that the Philippines has the potential to surpass India as the leading outsourcing destination in the world. “The Philippines has a workforce that can serve high-value clients in back-office functions and also potentially in technology,” he added.

This ran in line with projections that the country, which represents 15 percent of the global offshore BPO market, is likely to emerge as a leading destination for non-voice BPO services. Notably, the Philippines offers diversified BPO services and takes on offshoring work in finance and accounting, human resource, marketing and sales, and legal services.

BPAP figures show voice services remained the largest revenue generator in the industry last year, posting $5 billion in profits--a 22 percent increase from 2008. On the other hand, game development registered the highest annual increase in revenues at 50 percent followed by back office or knowledge process outsourcing at 35 percent and the transcription subsector at 3.0 percent.

Revenue growth for engineering services was flat, whereas IT sourcing declined by 5.5 percent.