Blackstone to acquire CMS

Private equity firm Blackstone Group has agreed to buy a majority stake in the outsourcing unit of unlisted CMS Computers, reports Reuters.

The unit, which also manages card solutions and ATM cash management, will be spun off into a new company, with the founders of CMS owning a minority stake, Blackstone said in a statement.

Financial details were not disclosed.

The Philippines is aggressively positioning itself as the outsource destination of Japanese IT companies with English-speaking markets, said the Manila Standard Today.

Trade undersecretary Elmer Hernandez told reporters the Philippines' comparative advantage in e-services took centre stage during the recent road show in Japan, hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Japan Centre.

“The IT investments in the Philippines are very promising because of our comparative advantage in human resources, including the quality of manpower, which is the best in Asean,” said Hernandez.

Most outsourcing deals tend to go to familiar locations such as India and the Philippines for software development and customer service, and China and Eastern Europe for manufacturing. Now the rest of the world is jumping in, making it difficult to know where to turn and how to judge what's a good bet and what isn't, says Forbes.

The organisation consulted Amit Shankardass, chief global marketing officer at global outsourcer Sitel, to talk about what's changing in the global outsourcing market.

“From our perspective, the key elements are labour availability and skills knowledge. It's also important to consider protection of intellectual property. There is data going back and forth, so any leakage is not a good thing. And then you have to consider the normal things you would look for in any outsourced location,” said Shankardass.