ePLDT's BPO subsidiary earmarks more than
Php 5 billion for 2007 new growth initiatives

MANILA, Philippines, February 20, 2007 — SPi, a leading Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider has earmarked a significant capital outlay of Php 5 billion to pursue its ‘07 acquisition and expansion plans.

Ernest Cu, President and CEO, commented, “Our acquisition and expansion plans are geared towards accelerating growth and strengthening our position as the premier provider of global BPO solutions. “

Cu went on to say, “The significant capital outlay that has been allocated for expansion will allow us to broaden our capabilities, enter new markets, and further migrate from more commodity based activities to higher value services.  Because BPO is such a fast-moving industry, we need to be able to continue to evolve in order to stay ahead of the market and to maintain our point of difference as being one of the only true full-service vendors in the BPO market.”

Currently, SPi has significant penetration in the legal, publishing and healthcare sectors.  In the markets that SPi dominates,   SPi is recognized as the largest litigation support coding provider in the world, one of the Top 10 Electronic Discovery firms, the number 1 vendor in the publishing outsourcing space, and the third largest medical transcription provider in the US.

In 2006, SPi’s strategic growth and operational expansion included the acquisition of CyMed, Inc.  This acquisition enabled SPi to further strengthen its US delivery capability through the addition of 650 medical language specialists. SPi now has the most diversified healthcare delivery platform in the industry with operating centers across the US, Philippines, and India.  

For 2007, the acquisition program is even broader – in addition to its continued interest in Healthcare, SPi will seek business line extensions for its Publishing and Legal groups, as well as a platform acquisition to get a solid foothold in the Finance and Accounting industries.

Ray Espinosa, President of ePLDT, mentioned that, “While M&A is an important part of our strategy, SPi’s organic growth is also an integral part of the overall revenue mix.  What’s particularly encouraging is that our customers are increasingly requesting higher value-added services from us.  Better known in the industry as Knowledge

Process Outsourcing, the new work we are winning involves greater analysis and judgment from our staff.  As an example, we have an engagement now where we’re using Filipino lawyers to assist in analyzing and editing US court cases.  This niche business is exciting in and of itself but is more so because of all of the excitement lately about yet another segment of BPO called Legal Process Outsourcing.” 

To accommodate its growth, SPi is opening two new facilities.  Both are expected to be operational by mid 2007 and include a 300 seat facility in Chennai, India and a 450 seat in Hanoi, Vietnam.  The Chennai center will house both Healthcare and Publishing operations, and the Hanoi center will initially cater to Publishing operations.  Further, in the US, investments in systems and infrastructure are being focused on the New York, Virginia, Texas and Tennessee locations.  The Philippines remains the major delivery hub for SPi with 4,600 employees working in different locations in Manila, Laguna, Cebu and Dumaguete.