Researchers to study Cebu economy
USC, CIPC, Peza, DOST collaboration to look into Cebu’s BPO, Peza locators, cement industry
A RESEARCH project on Cebu’s economy was launched last week to help prepare the province improve its competitiveness with the Asean economic integration in 2015.
The School of Business and Economics of the University of San Carlos, Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) signed an agreement for the research project last Friday.
USC Department of Economics chairperson Corazon Anzano said the first research project will be “An Update on the Business Process Outsourcing Industry in Cebu.”
Anzano said the study will look into the market structure, growth trends, business environment, and the demand for utilities like broadband connectivity in 126 registered IT-BPO companies in Cebu. The study will also identify the attrition rate and will look into the curriculum adopted by the academe that is in line with the demands of the BPO industry.
The second project will be entitled “A Competitive Study of Cebu as perceived by Peza locators” and will attempt to assess the competitiveness of Cebu and its counterpart cities in Southeast Asia like Bangkok and Jakarta, Anzano said.
Competitiveness in the study, she said, is the “ability of a city to create or maintain an environment that sustains more value creation for its enterprises and more prosperity to its people.”
Anzano said the assessment for the second project will be done by Peza locators while the local government units will also be asked about their perception of Cebu’s competitiveness.
The third project, which is entitled “The Cement Industry: Fueling Growth in Cebu,” will look into the market, environment and growth of the cement industry in Cebu.
CIPC managing director Jose Mari Yu said there is a need for solid data on Cebu’s economic performance that he can present to investors.
Instead of depending on value propo- sition on presenting Cebu to investors, Yu said he wants to present quantitative data to really show that Cebu has a growing economy.
In the IT-BPO sector alone, Anzano reported that they have been contributing P13.5 billion in the economy, showing “how important the industry is.”
The research collaboration is also aimed at enhancing Cebu’s competitiveness in the face of the 2015 Asean economic integration where companies in Asean countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand will be allowed to enter each other’s market with lowered tariffs and capital market integration.
Yu said the cost of the three projects is pegged at P400,000.
DOST 7 Director Rene Burt Llanto announced that DOST will fund the project but said the amount has yet to be finalized, based on how much the university will ask.
Fifteen students majoring in economics in USC will be involved in data gathering and analysis, with the mentorship of the faculty.
Yu said that by September 2014, the data will be published and made available to the public.