The government has urged the players in the IT-enable services industry to move up the value chain by going into the multi-billion dollar high-end knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila said the KPO business involves about high technical research, legal pleadings, documentations, among others that can be done by highly skilled professionals. "This is a new area that we should tap because we have the capability to serve this market," Favila said. According to Favila, India is the existing player in the KPO sector. Favila said this even as more new call center and business process outsourcing companies are still pouring into the country. BPO firms are engaged in the processing of financial and accounting documents, payroll, among others. The latest is the in the addition of call center firms in the country are Dell and Sutherland. Favila said that Gari Guglielmi, vice-president of Morgan Stanley Investments, a US based investment house, has paid him a courtesy call and expressed keen interest of expanding its existing operations in the country. To sustain the supply of qualified manpower for the ITES industry, Favila said the government has engaged the local government units, the local academe and students.

The Board of Investments (BoI) approved the P118.5 million project of Philippine Auto Components, Inc. that will produce a new generation of car instrument cluster, ad parts and components in the country. The firm’s project involves the establishment of a new production line/facility to manufacture instrument cluster and related parts and components such as dials, printed circuit boards, and case for motor vehicles. The new generation of instrument cluster will use the stepper motor for metering the speedometer, tachometer and other gauge needed to monitor the vehicle’s status and performance. Philippine Auto Components, Inc. is a 97.3 percent Singaporean and 2.7 percent Japanese firm engaged in the manufacture, buying, selling (on wholesale basis), distributing, installing, designing, servicing, importing and exporting of products and spare parts for automobiles, buses, trucks, motorcycles. At full capacity, the facility located at Carmelray Industrial Park in Laguna will employ 126 personnel and produce 400,000 sets of instruments and 350,000 units of parts and components annually.

The World Bank has extended an initial .7 million in grant to fund the reconstruction projects in Mindanao. World Bank Philippines Country Director, Joachim von Amsberg has expressed his hopes for Mindanao, and how this initial phase could unlock more international support. "Such funding is significant and strategic but small compared to the overall needs. However, capacity building in Phase I will unlock international support in Phase 2 of around US$ 50 million or more," said Von Ambsberg. " The program in turn can unleash the even greater social and economic benefits that Mindanao can experience through lasting peace." He noted that Mindanao has great potential for rapid development if different groups can begin to trust each other, find agreements and together, focus on the development of Mindanao, especially those areas that have been affected by the armed conflict. In addition, Sweden and the World Bank are contributing to Phase I of the program. The program aims to promote inclusive and effective governance processes, and to assist economic and social recovery in the conflict-affected areas of Mindanao.

Smart Communications Inc. recently inaugurated a wireless laboratory in De La Salle Lipa (DLSL), Batangas, its 42nd partner school for ts industry academe program aimed at improving engineering education in the Philippines. The Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) targets to cover almost a hundred schools from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi within 2006. SWEEP consists of two parts. The first is the wireless lab which houses various pieces of equipment from Smart’s analog network such as radio cabinets, rectifier units, a battery bank, antennas and a computer control console. The facility also contains a working GSM cell site that will not only provide additional coverage for the campus but can also be used as part of an on-the-job training program for students. The second is a continuing education program under which Smart will periodically deploy its engineers to provide lectures and make presentations on various topics such an introduction to GSM technology, General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Short Message Services (SMS), Multi-media Message Services (MMS), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) and Third Generation (3G).