Penang bets on IT-BPO Hub

GEORGE TOWN: The RM3.3bil Infor-mation Technology Outsourcing and Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) Hub in Penang will generate some 30,000 high-paying jobs when the project is fully developed in 10 years.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said in the first five years, about 21,000 high-paying jobs would be created.

“The fastest-growing sector in the BPO industry in Malaysia is in banking, financial services and insurance with a 30% market share followed by manufacturing (27%), oil and gas (22%), and others such as retail, logistics, government and telecommunication.

“The outsourcing sector in Malaysia is expected to expand at an average rate of 15% in the next three years in terms of revenue,” he said at the ground-breaking ceremony of the IT-BPO Hub in Bayan Lepas (next to the Penang International Airport) yesterday.

The IT-BPO Hub comprises three components involving a 30ha IT-BPO Park in Bayan Lepas, a planned development of 2.8ha BPO Prime in Bayan Baru and a 9,290sq m of Creative Animation Triggers (CAT) in the George Town heritage enclave.

Lim said he was informed that the outsourcing industry had created about 50,000 new jobs as of June 2013, adding that the Multimedia Development Corp targets the creation of at least 85,000 jobs by 2017 for Malaysia.

BPO services include customer operations, data processing, back office administration, accounting, technical support, transcription, software development, IT consultancy and disaster recovery services.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar represented the Prime Minister at the event.

He said the global outsourcing market was currently worth US$458bil (RM1.501 trillion) and was expected to reach US$625bil (RM2.048 trillion) by 2017.

“Malaysia’s outsourcing industry worth US$1.7bil (RM5.57bil) in 2012 is projected to grow even faster, doubling in value by 2017. The federal and state governments must work together to ensure the success of the IT-BPO Hub,” he added.