What Ails the BPO Industry in Pakistan?

#143 offcourse strategy sure...so pakis (according to you) are throwing the long-ball while forgoing the short-runs. must be somethign geo-strategic ..

#143 by zeemax on January 31, 2007 12:16pm PT


We Pakistanis do not think


Which is why you are failures in manufacturing and failures in IT......

#142 by jang

What you say is true ... but that`s bania mentality. You know ... `chwanni par girney wali`.

We Pakistanis do not think like that. Neither do the Chinese BTW. We look way beyond the `chwanni`.

#141 yar jeemax sure sure about all these asymptotic shyte..but rules of the game change every day..1 day its code-cooling the next its IP generation, third day its purely product definition. its kinda silly to let go of what is achievable today because ``in the long run``..i mean make money now, tommorow things will surely be different anyways, so all this asymptotic stuff is pure sour-grapes, esp when we are talking about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.

#140 by DrDr

You`re on the right track. Though I neede some time to figure out your netspeak.

But you`re right it`s the intellectual property where the game will be won or lost, and not outsourcing which I maintain is just menial work one step ahead of exporting amahs.

#133 zee, afaik chinese manufacturers typically have 2 sign nda`s & r not a party 2 the IP that the principals bring in. Transfer of tech happens mostly for manufacturing 4 domestic market - if a multinational wants 2 enter chinese market they end up having 2 share IP - but if u r manufacturing lcd panels 4 an american co with a taiwanese agent in mainland china very little IP is intentionally given away. There r allegations of IP theft but thats a different story..
U also have 2 keep in mind that the chinese boom was financed by the bamboo network - overseas ethnic chinese including taiwanese. Theres a 100 ways 2 skin a cat..

that`s right prophet tahmed(peace be unto your self-righteous rear):

brit pakis get arrested for terrorism and it`s Indians who`re hateful...

oh no here come the usual suspects loaded up on beer & starting a pissing match! chowk does need 2 moderate these boards..

i am glad you find hope in these pictures arjun. better for you to be happy and rabid than to be miserable and rabid!!

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....contd.... #133

... in fact, BPO is just one step ahead of exporting domestic maids as in the Phillipines/Sri-Lanka/South India example ...

#133 by zeemax on January 31, 2007 9:21am PT


But this policy in the long term is a losing one as it does not add value and thus does not contribute to wage growth.


Pakis said the exact same thing when Indian IT exports were at 5 billion..not they`re near the 20 billion mark and India is getting into chip design and other stuff(considered, I`m sure, too lowly by pakis), Pakis are STILL repeating the same thing..

The fact is that the paki government has been trying really hard since the late 90s to get on the IT bandwagon..and hasn`t had much success with it..and having failed, pakis are telling us they didn`t want to get into this whole IT thing anyway...

Sour grapes...



But this policy in the long term is a losing one as it does not add value and thus does not contribute to wage growth.


Sure..that may be true in Pakiworld, the magical mystical place where paki delusions are reality...but in the real world...

India reports highest hike in salaries at 13.8%

Re the author`s appeal to stick to the subject, and his genuine desire to see growth in the BPO sector in Pakistan. I ask, why? I.e. Is BPO good for a country? While setting priorities, should Pakistan give precedence to BPO in its policies? My answer is a resounding NO.

Let`s start with getting the terminology straight. There`s `Outsourcing`, and there`s `Offshoring`. Many interactors have confused one with the other.

Outsourcing aims at labour arbitrage alone, with little or no stake by the Principal, no transfer of proprietary technology, and a short-term renewable commitment. Offshoring on the other hand involves a majority or at-least an equal stake alongwith domestic partners, transfer of proprietary technology, and a long-term commitment by the Principal. In short, BPO is service export as long as it is competitive, while Offshoring is FDI.

All the Asian tigers ... every single one of them, including Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, S. Korea and now China in its coastal regions were built on Offshoring and not Outsourcing. Interestingly, Thailand just this month has imposed capital controls restricting foreign ownership to a maximum of 50% in equity as well as voting rights. Reason they did that was to stop the labour arbitrage which they felt was exploitation of their labour force through 100% voting rights held by foreign interests even while complying with the max 50% equity rule already prevalent in Thailand. They want technology in return for foreigners using their cheap labour. Is that fair or not?

If India is happy with the labour arbitrage alone, it may be their business model, and they`ve done well in getting a sizable chunk of it for now. But this policy in the long term is a losing one as it does not add value and thus does not contribute to wage growth. Service export actually lowers wages as competition intensifies. For example, if the English speaking African nations with a large and fairly educated urban workforce, like say Nigeria were to become competitors, BPO wages in India will fall as the technology involved is commonplace and the services are of low to medium-skill levels.

So I do not agree with the author that BPO should be encouraged as a focus for growth. At best, it can be a peripheral service sector industry. Being a recipient of Offshoring is what is required in an outward looking (i.e. the focused external sector) economic policy.*

As far as I know, Pakistan is doing just that.

* (Which too I oppose but that`s another subject).

#127 by Mantolives on January 31, 2007 7:56am PT


Pakistani establishment is actually quite happy with the status quo on kashmir for many different reasons


and the fox was actually very happy that he didn`t get to eat the grapes...

#129 by Mantolives on January 31, 2007 8:22am PT


At least he doesn`t have to make stuff up about his dad driving a maybach...

reverting to the subject -- lock the Mulla in the masjid and the army in the barracks and the BPO ka Baap will have a field day...