(Manila, Philippines, January 13, 2005) - e-Services Philippines, the country's largest IT enabled services (ITES) and outsourcing expo, will take place February 17-18, 2005 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Manila according to Assistant Secretary Felicitas Agoncillo-Reyes, Executive Director of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the trade promotions arm of the Department of Trade and Industry and organizer of the event.

A business conference featuring prominent international ITES experts, senior executives, and top government officials will take place concurrent to the expo.

Now in its fifth year the 2005 exhibit will feature the country's best and brightest global ITES providers in six key areas: animation, business process outsourcing, contact centers, medical transcription, software development, and engineering and design, according to Reyes.

The exhibit will also feature companies that provide products and services to local IT out-sourcing firms, as well as government agencies offering electronic constituency services, and other institutions offering examples of groundbreaking IT innovation.

e-Services Philippines is organized annually to showcase the world-class capabilities of Philippine ITES providers, help sustain and grow investor interest in the Philippines, and generate business opportunities for ITES providers, related businesses, and IT professionals.

"The 2004 exhibit featured over one hundred exhibitors, drew approximately 4,000 visitors from around the world, and served as an arena for the initiation of meaningful and profitable business relationships between outsourcers and service providers," according to DTI Undersecretary Thomas Aquino.

"This year, e-Services will be even bigger and better. The event is one of the strategic ways we are responding to the clamor to promote our world-class infrastructure, business-friendly government, and our much admired, highly productive labor force and its high level of English proficiency," he said.

Concurrent to the expo, CITEM will organize a two-day business conference. The conference will feature presentations and panel discussions by local and international business and ITES executives as well as top Philippine government officials.

Panel discussions will be concerned with a range of pressing issues, including branding the Philippines as an outsourcing destination of choice, the technological imperatives of global competitiveness, and sustaining the demand for skilled manpower by enhancing educational infrastructure. A global research firm specializing in ITES will provide an overview of e-services trends that will shape the business landscape over the next half decade.

The second day of the conference will feature breakout sessions on the six high-growth ITES sectors, according to Reyes. For more information on e-Services Philippines 2005, contact CITEM at 8325044 and/or 8312201 loc. 301 or visit www.e-servicesphils.com.