‘NMI public supports call center business’

Community members favor the setting up of call centers in the CNMI in hopes that it will boost employment among local residents, said the Commonwealth Development Authority yesterday.

CDA conducted a public hearing on the qualifying certificate application of We Manage Calls Inc., a company that aims to begin a call center business on Saipan.

CDA economic development analyst Carlene Cabrera said that, during the meeting, representatives from the Workforce Investment Agency and Verizon-buyer, Pacific Telecom Inc., favored the project.

There were some 20 people, excluding CDA and Tax and Revenue representatives, who attended the public hearing, which was held at the Multi-Purpose Center.

“Basically, they are in support of the application. WIA, since they are looking at local residents being employed and providing the opportunity to them, and PTI obviously would be supportive of the company because they would serve this applicant,” Cabrera said.

She said We Manage Calls Inc., is a $2 million project being pushed by businessman Eric A. Van Der Maas, the new owner of the Nauru building in Susupe.

Cabrera said CDA would be examining the business proposal closely.

Van Der Maas is asking for tax relief by way of abatement of CNMI taxes, as provided in the government’s Investment Incentive Act of 2000.

Cabrera said that only Van Der Maas’ group has so far applied for tax relief. He said PTI is just gathering information about the qualifying certificate in relation to its plan to promote it among Philippines-based investors.

“PTI is looking to promote the call centers in the Philippines and hopefully try to get some Philippine companies to consider the CNMI as another call center destination or place to invest,” she said.

CDA administers the government’s qualifying certificate program, which grants various tax incentives of up to 100 percent in tax rebates for 25 years to investors who build, expand, and operate commercial projects in the CNMI.

A call center business refers to reservation centers, help desks, information lines or customer service centers. This type of business is most popular in the Philippines and India, which have a high percentage of English speaking local residents.

Reports said that the call center business generated 30,000 new jobs in the Philippines over five years, ending in 2003. This year, it is estimated to rise to 100,000 jobs.

The United States has reportedly lost over 250,000 call center jobs to India and the Philippines since 2001.

Reports said that in 2004, 37 percent of the world’s outsourced contact center agent positions were in the United States. By 2008, it is expected that the number will shrink to 25 percent or a drop from 315,000 in 2004 to 291,000 in 2008.