The southern Philippine city of Zamboanga City is attracting international call center investors from Spain and the Middle East due to its cultural diversity, reported local daily Philippine Daily Inquirer on its website Monday.

The report quoted officials of the Department of Trade and Industry as saying that a number of these call center operators have been eyeing cities in the South, particularly Zamboanga City, as possible locations for offshore operations.

A number of companies from Spain, as well as Dubai and Bahrain in the Middle East, have been reportedly recruiting agents in Zamboanga City for overseas work, as Zamboanga residents speak " Chabacano," a local dialect derived from the Spanish language, and are familiar with Muslim culture including a "Madras style schooling similar to countries in the Middle East", according to the officials.

Official statistics from the Board of Investments showed investments in the IT and IT-enabled business outsourcing operation sectors totaled 15.75 billion pesos (328 million U.S. dollars) last year in the Philippines.

It is estimated that 70 percent of investments in the outsourcing industry go into Metro Manila and the rest in various provinces. Cebu comes next with about 20 outsourcing companies.

In the last three years, a number of companies have set up operations in other Filipino cities such as Davao, Baguio, Iloilo, Bacolod and Cagayan De Oro.

Source: Xinhua