No Growth for PH IT-BPM Industry this Year

Growth of the Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industry in the Philippines is expected to fall flat this year, according to the recalibrated industry forecast by the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) during the 12th International Innovation Summit’s closing ceremony on Thursday evening.

This comes as the coronavirus virus 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause devastation in the economic landscape of the country.

The revenue outlook for the IT-BPM industry at the 2020 is at USD 26 billion, similar to that of 2019 in which the industry closed with a revenue of USD 26.3 billion–a 7.1 percent growth from 2018.

Full-time employment will remain at 1.3 million. In 2019, employment in the industry grew by 5.8 percent from 1.3 million in 2018.

Meanwhile, IBPAP president Rey Untal said during an online press briefing on Friday that the IT-BPM industry in the Philippines is still outperforming the global economy, which is expected to fall by 3 percent to 4 percent amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Full-recovery and for the industry is expected by 2021.

The industry is also expected to pick up steam in 2020, with the Philippine IT-BPM sector projected to grow in the range of 3.2 percent to 5.5 percent in revenues, and 2.7 percent to 5 percent in terms of employment. (GFB)