PEZA courts Australia, New Zealand to grow BPO investment
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has concluded an investment mission to Australia and New Zealand, meeting with companies including Cloudstaff, Appen Butler Hill, A.S. White, and the Financial Advice Association Australia — an outreach effort that produced concrete expansion commitments and identified a pipeline of financial services firms considering their first Philippine operations.
PEZA Director General Tereso Panga led the delegation.
Three Australian firms plan 1,400 new Philippine jobs
According to a report from The Manila Times, Appen Butler Hill — an AI training and data services company operating in the Philippines since 2007 with P140 million in investments and 2,500 current workers — is planning to add approximately 1,100 new jobs, representing one of the larger single-company headcount expansion signals to emerge from the mission.
A.S. White — IT, software development, and accounting support, in the Philippines since 2016 with 1,308 employees — projects more than 300 new annual jobs, while Cloudstaff‘s 7,500+ employees across multiple PEZA sites confirmed continued multi-location expansion.
“The Philippines is not only a cost-effective destination, but a strategic partner that understands their business needs,” said Tereso Panga, PEZA Director General.
Ninety-one Australian PEZA firms employ over 40,000 Filipinos
As of 2025, 91 Australian companies are registered with PEZA, representing P19 billion in investments and employing more than 40,000 Filipino workers — a bilateral footprint PEZA’s outbound mission sought to expand through direct engagement.
The Financial Advice Association Australia, representing 10,799 members, is planning an August 2026 study tour to Cebu — a visit that signals a pipeline of financial services firms that have not yet established Philippine operations but are actively assessing the market.
New Zealand-Philippines bilateral trade reached NZ$1.63 billion as of March 2025, with PEZA’s New Zealand engagement targeting companies across technology, services, and agricultural sectors alongside existing BPO relationships.
PEZA’s outbound investment mission model — sending the authority’s leadership directly to source markets in Australia and New Zealand — reflects a shift from passive investment facilitation to active competitive courtship of buyers who are already expanding into offshore delivery.
For Australian and New Zealand companies evaluating Philippine operations, PEZA’s outbound engagement reduces the information and access friction that typically delays offshore investment decisions.
The FAAA pipeline — 10,799 financial advice members with a study tour confirmed for August — suggests the Philippine financial services BPO opportunity remains significantly underpenetrated among trans-Tasman buyers. Firms that act will find a PEZA registration pathway that 91 Australian companies have already validated.
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