BPO lockdown could impact future foreign investments, says UWI senior lecturer

Judana Murphy, Gleaner Writer 

Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Dr Christopher Malcolm, says the 14-day lockdown of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, which took effect today, could potentially impact future foreign direct investment in Jamaica.  

The government’s decision was triggered by a surge in coronavirus (COVID-19) cases with the spike being led by employees at the Alorica call centre in Portmore, St Catherine, which accounts for more than 50 percent of Jamaica’s 233 cases. 

Malcolm explained that one of the significant factors foreign direct investors consider when they visit prospective countries is potential risks, which may include legal, political and environmental.  

“This quite frankly is creating what would be considered an environmental risk in terms of how we manage the situation...future investors in that sector looking on, will measure how we dealt with it as distinct from how other countries dealt with it, to then determine where they should lay their eggs,” he said. 

Malcolm was speaking on Tuesday during an online webinar hosted by the University of the West Indies Open Campus and the Consular Corps of Jamaica.

It was disclosed that the annual investment value of the BPO sector is approximately US$400 million and there are 68 companies in operation, mainly in Montego Bay, St James, Mandeville, Manchester, Portmore, St Catherine and Kingston.

“I would suspect that the government has been as cautious in Jamaica as it has been, in [deciding] whether or not it would lock down the sector initially and so on,” Malcolm added. 

He said the impact will be dependent on how well the situation is managed, how the government communicates with investors, and the systems put in place for effective dialogue. 

Some 40,000 workers are employed in the sector.

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