The number of internet users worldwide is expected to touch 2.2 billion by 2013 and India is projected to have the third largest online population during the same time, says a report.
"The number of people online around the world will grow more than 45 per cent to 2.2 billion users by 2013 and Asia will continue to be the biggest Internet growth engine.
"... India will be the third largest internet user base by 2013 - with China and the US taking the first two spots, respectively," technology and market research firm Forrester Research said in a report.
Globally, there were about 1.5 billion Internet users in the year 2008.
Titled 'Global Online Population Forecast, 2008 to 2013', the report noted that emerging markets like India would see a growth of 10 to 20 per cent by 2013.
"In some of the emerging markets in Asia such as China, India and Indonesia, the average annual growth rates will be 10 to 20 per cent over the next five years (2008-13)," the report said. India's number of Internet users was estimated to be 52 million in 2008.
In the next four years, about 43 per cent of the Internet users globally are anticipated to reside in Asia and neighbouring China would account for about half of that population.
"... the shifting online population and growing spending power among Asian consumers means that Asian markets will represent a far greater percentage of the total in 2013 than they do today," Forrester Research Senior Analyst Zia Daniell Wigder said.
According to the report, the percentage of internet users in Asia would increase to 43 per cent in 2013 from 38 per cent in 2008.
"The percentage of the global online population located in North America will drop from 17 per cent to 13 per cent between 2008 and 2013, while Europe's share will shrink from 26 per cent to 22 per cent.
"The percentage of those in Asia will increase from 38 per cent to 43 per cent and Latin America will remain steady at about 11 per cent of the global total," Forrester noted.
The report said apart from China, other Asian countries with substantial online growth rates include India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
"By contrast, growth rates in some of the more mature markets such as Japan and South Korea will rise by less than two per cent each year," it added.
Agencies
Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Aegis likely to hire 12,000 staff globally
Essar Group's back office unit Aegis said it will augment its global workforce by 12,000, summing up the total headcount to 43,000, by end of this fiscal. The company plans to hire 1,000 people every month in India and across United States, Philippines, Costa Rica and Africa where it has operations.
"We will be recruiting a thousand people every month, so this year we will add 12,000 to our workforce globally. We have already hired 3,000 people since the beginning of this fiscal," Aegis Ltd managing director and Global CEO Aparup Sengupta said.
"The Ruias-led company has earmarked a capital expenditure of $30-35 million this year, excluding cost on infrastructure," he said. Despite the global downturn, Aegis is eyeing a turnover of over $550 million and aims to grow by over 50% in 2009-10. "There is still an opportunity for outsourcing," Sengupta said.
Agencies
"We will be recruiting a thousand people every month, so this year we will add 12,000 to our workforce globally. We have already hired 3,000 people since the beginning of this fiscal," Aegis Ltd managing director and Global CEO Aparup Sengupta said.
"The Ruias-led company has earmarked a capital expenditure of $30-35 million this year, excluding cost on infrastructure," he said. Despite the global downturn, Aegis is eyeing a turnover of over $550 million and aims to grow by over 50% in 2009-10. "There is still an opportunity for outsourcing," Sengupta said.
Agencies
Friday, May 15, 2009
Will Aegis Buy Australia's UCMS Group?
Essar Group's back office arm Aegis Ltd has agreed to buy Australian business process outsourcing firm UCMS Group Ltd in a cash deal worth about A$54 million, the firms said in a statement on Friday.
Aegis, through affiliate firm Aegis BPO Services Australia Pty Ltd, will pay UCMS stockholders A$0.98 per share, a 133 percent premium over Thursday's closing price of A$0.42 per share, they added in the joint statement.
"Australia and New Zealand logically become a part of our growth strategy and offer an opportunity for Aegis to expand its footprint in this geography," said Aparup Sengupta, global chief executive officer and managing director of Aegis. The transaction is expected to close in in the third quarter and is subject to approvals from shareholders and the Supreme Court of Victoria and other customary closing conditions, they added.
With this acquisition, Aegis will have operations in India, Philippines, the United States, Costa Rica, Kenya and Australia. Last year, Aegis acquired outsourcing firm PeopleSupport Inc.
Agencies
Aegis, through affiliate firm Aegis BPO Services Australia Pty Ltd, will pay UCMS stockholders A$0.98 per share, a 133 percent premium over Thursday's closing price of A$0.42 per share, they added in the joint statement.
"Australia and New Zealand logically become a part of our growth strategy and offer an opportunity for Aegis to expand its footprint in this geography," said Aparup Sengupta, global chief executive officer and managing director of Aegis. The transaction is expected to close in in the third quarter and is subject to approvals from shareholders and the Supreme Court of Victoria and other customary closing conditions, they added.
With this acquisition, Aegis will have operations in India, Philippines, the United States, Costa Rica, Kenya and Australia. Last year, Aegis acquired outsourcing firm PeopleSupport Inc.
Agencies
Monday, April 13, 2009
Logica on a hiring spree in India
At a time when adding new jobs is being taken out from the agenda of most of the companies, IT and business services company Logica plans to recruit about 3,000 people by 2009, in which 2000 will be in Chennai. The remaining jobs will be in Philippines, Czech Republic and Morocco, reported The Times of India.
The company provides consulting, outsourcing solutions and services and blended delivery services across many industry verticals. In India, it provides support services like infrastructure management, BPO services and financial accounting outsourcing.
"Logica employs 5,700 people and plans to ramp it up to 8,000 by the end of this year," said Abhay Gupte, CEO, Logica India. Logica's Chennai center has about 900 employees.
Agencies
The company provides consulting, outsourcing solutions and services and blended delivery services across many industry verticals. In India, it provides support services like infrastructure management, BPO services and financial accounting outsourcing.
"Logica employs 5,700 people and plans to ramp it up to 8,000 by the end of this year," said Abhay Gupte, CEO, Logica India. Logica's Chennai center has about 900 employees.
Agencies
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Will the Obama's policy on US firm to pull back jobs have effect on India?
Sallie Mae, a US-based company which gives loans to students, Monday announced to move back as many as 2,000 overseas jobs, including those from India, even if it means an additional financial burden on the company because of higher labour expenses.
"It's the right thing to do," said Sallie Mae Chief Executive Albert Lord at a press conference which was attended by Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski and Senator Robert Casey in an apparent reference to the large scale job losses in the US in the last one year.
The value of a company's franchise is essentially measured in financial terms, but there are a lot of values in a company that relate to the long-term value of a franchise. It's a wise investment in the company's future, Lord said.
"The current economic environment has caused our communities to struggle with job losses. They need jobs, and we will put 2,000 of them into US facilities as soon as we possibly can," he added.
In the next 18 months, some 2,000 overseas jobs would be moved back to the US. These jobs are primarily in India, Mexico and the Philippines and are basically call centres, information technology and operations support positions.
The move would cost the company $350,000 per annum as the workers in the US would have to be paid a much higher wage than those in countries such as India.
Sallie Mae is the largest US-based student loan provider. It employs more than 8,000 people in the US. For quite some time, it has been struggling during the credit crunch to finance loans to students.
In the fourth quarter the company had reported a net loss of $216 million, in which it made $4.8 billion in student loans. Through its subsidiaries, the company manages $180 billion in education loans and serves 10 million student and parent customers.
Agencies
"It's the right thing to do," said Sallie Mae Chief Executive Albert Lord at a press conference which was attended by Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski and Senator Robert Casey in an apparent reference to the large scale job losses in the US in the last one year.
The value of a company's franchise is essentially measured in financial terms, but there are a lot of values in a company that relate to the long-term value of a franchise. It's a wise investment in the company's future, Lord said.
"The current economic environment has caused our communities to struggle with job losses. They need jobs, and we will put 2,000 of them into US facilities as soon as we possibly can," he added.
In the next 18 months, some 2,000 overseas jobs would be moved back to the US. These jobs are primarily in India, Mexico and the Philippines and are basically call centres, information technology and operations support positions.
The move would cost the company $350,000 per annum as the workers in the US would have to be paid a much higher wage than those in countries such as India.
Sallie Mae is the largest US-based student loan provider. It employs more than 8,000 people in the US. For quite some time, it has been struggling during the credit crunch to finance loans to students.
In the fourth quarter the company had reported a net loss of $216 million, in which it made $4.8 billion in student loans. Through its subsidiaries, the company manages $180 billion in education loans and serves 10 million student and parent customers.
Agencies
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Will Fujitsu cut 1,750 jobs?
Japan's Fujitsu Ltd announced plans to axe 1,750 jobs in the Philippines, blaming the global economic downturn.
Workers have been offered early retirement packages to leave Fujitsu Computer Products Corp, which makes disk drives, said Ernesto Espinosa, a manager.
"We launched a voluntary leaving programme and the reason for this is that because of the global recession," he said.
Labour Secretary Marianito Roque told reporters the government had been notified of the plan, which takes effect on April 18.
He said this brought the number of Filipinos who had lost their jobs since the financial crisis unfolded last year to about 45,000. The government expects 800,000 people to lose jobs, mainly in the electronics and clothing sectors, before the downturn eases.
About nine million Filipinos, or 10 per cent of the population, were without jobs or underemployed, the government announced.
Espinosa said Fujitsu failed to save the jobs despite earlier efforts to cut working hours and overtime pay, which drastically reduced employees' salaries.
"Because of that we have no other choice but to offer voluntary separation," he added. About 2,900 other workers will remain with the company, based in Calamba town, south of Manila, he said.
Fujitsu announced in Japan last month that it would sell an 80 per cent stake to Japanese rival Toshiba Corp.
Agencies
Workers have been offered early retirement packages to leave Fujitsu Computer Products Corp, which makes disk drives, said Ernesto Espinosa, a manager.
"We launched a voluntary leaving programme and the reason for this is that because of the global recession," he said.
Labour Secretary Marianito Roque told reporters the government had been notified of the plan, which takes effect on April 18.
He said this brought the number of Filipinos who had lost their jobs since the financial crisis unfolded last year to about 45,000. The government expects 800,000 people to lose jobs, mainly in the electronics and clothing sectors, before the downturn eases.
About nine million Filipinos, or 10 per cent of the population, were without jobs or underemployed, the government announced.
Espinosa said Fujitsu failed to save the jobs despite earlier efforts to cut working hours and overtime pay, which drastically reduced employees' salaries.
"Because of that we have no other choice but to offer voluntary separation," he added. About 2,900 other workers will remain with the company, based in Calamba town, south of Manila, he said.
Fujitsu announced in Japan last month that it would sell an 80 per cent stake to Japanese rival Toshiba Corp.
Agencies
Friday, January 23, 2009
Intel to shut sites in Malaysia, Philippines; To layoff 6,000 jobs
Intel Corp said on Wednesday it would close manufacturing plants in Malaysia and the Philippines, as well as its only remaining factory in Silicon Valley, cutting as many as 6,000 jobs.
The announcement comes a day after the world's largest maker of microprocessors used in personal computers slashed prices on a number of its chips and a week after it reported a decline in fourth-quarter revenue.
Intel said it would close two assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia, and one in Cavite, Philippines.
It will also halt production at a wafer fabrication facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, as well as its Santa Clara, California plant -- a factory connected to its headquarters and the only one left in Silicon Valley.
The actions will result in a reduction of 5,000 to 6,000 jobs, Intel said. It ended 2008 with around 84,000 employees.
Not all cuts at the affected plants will lead to job losses and some workers will be offered positions at other facilities, it said, adding that the restructuring will take place between now and the end of 2009.
"It's not a surprise given that their first quarter is probably going to be challenging, and they're trying to do what they can to cut costs in places that make sense," said Taunya Sell, an analyst at Ragen Mackenzie, a division of Wells Fargo.
Intel said it was not halting production at any of its more advanced factories.
Intel shares rose about 1 percent to $13.40 in after-hours trading, after rising 3.11 percent to close at $13.26 on the Nasdaq stock market.
Last week, Intel said its fourth-quarter revenue fell 23 percent from the year-ago period and profit tumbled 90 percent. It also held back on giving detailed quarterly forecasts, citing economic uncertainty.
Analysts have been wary about Intel's outlook for the year as chip sales slide. PC makers and other technology companies have been trimming inventory and cutting back on purchases.
Intel also faces competition from new, cheaper chips made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N).
On Tuesday, Intel said it was lowering prices on some of its processors, including price cuts of up to 40 percent on some of its higher-powered, faster quad-core chips.
AMD said earlier this month that it expected to post additional restructuring charges for fiscal 2008 and 2009.
Agencies
The announcement comes a day after the world's largest maker of microprocessors used in personal computers slashed prices on a number of its chips and a week after it reported a decline in fourth-quarter revenue.
Intel said it would close two assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia, and one in Cavite, Philippines.
It will also halt production at a wafer fabrication facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, as well as its Santa Clara, California plant -- a factory connected to its headquarters and the only one left in Silicon Valley.
The actions will result in a reduction of 5,000 to 6,000 jobs, Intel said. It ended 2008 with around 84,000 employees.
Not all cuts at the affected plants will lead to job losses and some workers will be offered positions at other facilities, it said, adding that the restructuring will take place between now and the end of 2009.
"It's not a surprise given that their first quarter is probably going to be challenging, and they're trying to do what they can to cut costs in places that make sense," said Taunya Sell, an analyst at Ragen Mackenzie, a division of Wells Fargo.
Intel said it was not halting production at any of its more advanced factories.
Intel shares rose about 1 percent to $13.40 in after-hours trading, after rising 3.11 percent to close at $13.26 on the Nasdaq stock market.
Last week, Intel said its fourth-quarter revenue fell 23 percent from the year-ago period and profit tumbled 90 percent. It also held back on giving detailed quarterly forecasts, citing economic uncertainty.
Analysts have been wary about Intel's outlook for the year as chip sales slide. PC makers and other technology companies have been trimming inventory and cutting back on purchases.
Intel also faces competition from new, cheaper chips made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N).
On Tuesday, Intel said it was lowering prices on some of its processors, including price cuts of up to 40 percent on some of its higher-powered, faster quad-core chips.
AMD said earlier this month that it expected to post additional restructuring charges for fiscal 2008 and 2009.
Agencies
Thursday, January 1, 2009
IT sector likely to grow 31.4 percent in '09
The domestic IT- ITeS market is likely to grow 13.4% in 2009, the slowest since 2003, as per market research firm IDC India. The market which includes hardware, software and services, grew 17.3% in 2008 to generate revenue worth Rs 1,01,031 crore.
India is likely to witness a slower growth in the coming five years, IDC said. The domestic IT-ITeS market is expected to record an average growth rate of 16.4% in 2009-13, against 24.3% during 2003-08. The slower growth will see enhanced competition, leading to a change in strategy and continuous market re-alignment on the part of players, it said.
"The issues in the short run, more pronounced throughout 2009, will be productivity, cost savings and customer retention. This would eventually pave way for innovative services by leveraging the existing infrastructure and aligning it with emerging opportunities," IDC India country manager Kapil Dev Singh.
The research firm said global IT-ITeS market is expected to grow only 2.6% in 2009, against 5% in 2008 and much slower than 7% in 2007. Despite a lower growth rate, India will continue to be the fastest-growing IT market in Asia Pacific, followed by China, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines.
In the domestic market, the product categories expected to grow faster than the average include collaborative applications, storage software, system and network management software. Within IT services, segments likely to outgrow the average include desktop management, information systems outsourcing, network management and application management. Solutions such as virtualisation, unified communications and business continuity services will also grow faster on account of enterprises' focus on cost savings.
Among emerging technologies, cloud computing services such as software as a service (SaaS) will be tested and adopted on a larger scale and will perform even better than in 2008. IDC said the economic slowdown will further increase and accelerate the adoption of outsourcing services by the Indian enterprises, while consumer spending on IT will moderate. There will also be increased consolidation among outsourcing vendors.
Source: Economic Times
India is likely to witness a slower growth in the coming five years, IDC said. The domestic IT-ITeS market is expected to record an average growth rate of 16.4% in 2009-13, against 24.3% during 2003-08. The slower growth will see enhanced competition, leading to a change in strategy and continuous market re-alignment on the part of players, it said.
"The issues in the short run, more pronounced throughout 2009, will be productivity, cost savings and customer retention. This would eventually pave way for innovative services by leveraging the existing infrastructure and aligning it with emerging opportunities," IDC India country manager Kapil Dev Singh.
The research firm said global IT-ITeS market is expected to grow only 2.6% in 2009, against 5% in 2008 and much slower than 7% in 2007. Despite a lower growth rate, India will continue to be the fastest-growing IT market in Asia Pacific, followed by China, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines.
In the domestic market, the product categories expected to grow faster than the average include collaborative applications, storage software, system and network management software. Within IT services, segments likely to outgrow the average include desktop management, information systems outsourcing, network management and application management. Solutions such as virtualisation, unified communications and business continuity services will also grow faster on account of enterprises' focus on cost savings.
Among emerging technologies, cloud computing services such as software as a service (SaaS) will be tested and adopted on a larger scale and will perform even better than in 2008. IDC said the economic slowdown will further increase and accelerate the adoption of outsourcing services by the Indian enterprises, while consumer spending on IT will moderate. There will also be increased consolidation among outsourcing vendors.
Source: Economic Times
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Texas Instruments to layoff 400 employees in Philippines
Texas Instruments, one of the world's biggest semiconductor manufacturers, is laying off 400 workers from its factory in the northern Philippines due to the global financial crisis, officials said.
The Labour Department's assistant regional director Sixto Rodriguez said the US-based company had notified the government of the cuts that will take effect on January 15, 2009.
He said the company has assured the government that it will give the laid-off employees all the necessary benefits and is offering them early retirement.
Company spokesmen would not comment however.
Texas Instruments employs about 2,300 people in its plant in the northern resort city of Baguio where it makes semiconductors -- conductive elements used in electronic circuits -- mostly for phone maker Nokia. It is the biggest taxpayer in the region.
The company has been operating in the Philippines for 28 years and was one of the pioneers of the electronics industry which has become the biggest export sector in the country.
Texas Instruments announced in May 2007 that it would invest around one billion dollars in a new test and assembly facility at the former US Airforce base at Clark, north of Manila.
The company would not comment on the fate of that plant in the face of the economic contraction that is hitting many countries.
The Baguio facility conducts final assembly and testing of semiconductors for customers in computer, aerospace, telecommunications and automotive industries in the US, Asia and Europe.
Press reports earlier said that Lear Automotive Services, a maker of automotive wire harnesses for export, was laying off 80 workers from its plant in the central Philippines.
Source: Agencies
The Labour Department's assistant regional director Sixto Rodriguez said the US-based company had notified the government of the cuts that will take effect on January 15, 2009.
He said the company has assured the government that it will give the laid-off employees all the necessary benefits and is offering them early retirement.
Company spokesmen would not comment however.
Texas Instruments employs about 2,300 people in its plant in the northern resort city of Baguio where it makes semiconductors -- conductive elements used in electronic circuits -- mostly for phone maker Nokia. It is the biggest taxpayer in the region.
The company has been operating in the Philippines for 28 years and was one of the pioneers of the electronics industry which has become the biggest export sector in the country.
Texas Instruments announced in May 2007 that it would invest around one billion dollars in a new test and assembly facility at the former US Airforce base at Clark, north of Manila.
The company would not comment on the fate of that plant in the face of the economic contraction that is hitting many countries.
The Baguio facility conducts final assembly and testing of semiconductors for customers in computer, aerospace, telecommunications and automotive industries in the US, Asia and Europe.
Press reports earlier said that Lear Automotive Services, a maker of automotive wire harnesses for export, was laying off 80 workers from its plant in the central Philippines.
Source: Agencies
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Fewer American youth access Internet: Survey
Fewer young Americans have Internet access than their peers in the Czech Republic, Canada, Macao and Britain, a survey of 13 countries around the world showed.
Among 12 to 14 year olds, 100 percent of British youth use the Internet, followed by Israel at 98 percent, the Czech Republic and Macao and 96 percent and Canada at 95 percent, according to the World Internet report by the Center for the Digital Future.
By contrast, only 88 percent of Americans of the same age had access, trailed by Hungary and Singapore, where more than seven in 10 young people use the Internet.
Separately, a bulletin by a software company showed mobile phone access to the Internet burgeoning outside the United States, especially in Southeast Asia.
For the report by the Center for the Digital Future, headed by Jeff Cole at the University of Southern California, researchers in 13 countries talked to more than 25,000 people in Asia, Australia, North and South America and Europe in late 2007 and early 2008.
UNIVERSAL SERVICE LACKING
The Center report showed the United States trails other countries in older groups, too. U.S. Internet usage by those over 18 runs behind Sweden, New Zealand and Canada. Recently, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin unsuccessfully proposed a universal service fund to promote high-speed Internet access, similar to the one for telephone service.
Martin also advocates new spectrum for wireless in the United States to facilitate Internet access and held a joint news conference with Larry Page, a founder of Google Inc, to promote the idea.
The Center report, issued annually in the United States and for the first time worldwide, said mobile phones are used for Internet access "by a very small percentage of users, with the exception of the United Kingdom."
But that may be out of date. A monthly bulletin issued by Norwegian software maker Opera Software shows mobile phone Internet access exploding.
Opera said that, during 2008, use of its Mini browser on mobile phones more than tripled, reaching 5 billion page views in October. The increase is especially marked in Southeast Asia and also showed spikes in Africa and the Middle East.
In Indonesia, user growth tripled. Page views there increased eight-fold and in the Philippines by 10-fold.
"In many of these Southeast Asian countries the mobile Web exists not because it complements existing means of access, but rather because it replaces them," Opera added.
Source: Reuters
Among 12 to 14 year olds, 100 percent of British youth use the Internet, followed by Israel at 98 percent, the Czech Republic and Macao and 96 percent and Canada at 95 percent, according to the World Internet report by the Center for the Digital Future.
By contrast, only 88 percent of Americans of the same age had access, trailed by Hungary and Singapore, where more than seven in 10 young people use the Internet.
Separately, a bulletin by a software company showed mobile phone access to the Internet burgeoning outside the United States, especially in Southeast Asia.
For the report by the Center for the Digital Future, headed by Jeff Cole at the University of Southern California, researchers in 13 countries talked to more than 25,000 people in Asia, Australia, North and South America and Europe in late 2007 and early 2008.
UNIVERSAL SERVICE LACKING
The Center report showed the United States trails other countries in older groups, too. U.S. Internet usage by those over 18 runs behind Sweden, New Zealand and Canada. Recently, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin unsuccessfully proposed a universal service fund to promote high-speed Internet access, similar to the one for telephone service.
Martin also advocates new spectrum for wireless in the United States to facilitate Internet access and held a joint news conference with Larry Page, a founder of Google Inc, to promote the idea.
The Center report, issued annually in the United States and for the first time worldwide, said mobile phones are used for Internet access "by a very small percentage of users, with the exception of the United Kingdom."
But that may be out of date. A monthly bulletin issued by Norwegian software maker Opera Software shows mobile phone Internet access exploding.
Opera said that, during 2008, use of its Mini browser on mobile phones more than tripled, reaching 5 billion page views in October. The increase is especially marked in Southeast Asia and also showed spikes in Africa and the Middle East.
In Indonesia, user growth tripled. Page views there increased eight-fold and in the Philippines by 10-fold.
"In many of these Southeast Asian countries the mobile Web exists not because it complements existing means of access, but rather because it replaces them," Opera added.
Source: Reuters
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