PAMPANGA and DAVAO, Philippines, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the opening of two new branch offices in the Philippines as it builds out its presence and increases its support for clients and partners in the country. The new offices in the cities of Pampanga and Davao are the latest additions to IBM's growth market operations and part of a strategy to increase its presence in the fastest growing economies in the world.

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The ASEAN region has recently experienced record economic growth and earlier this year IBM opened new offices in regional cities in Malaysia and Indonesia. This year, the Philippines has been one of the stars of the ASEAN region with a strong economic performance driven by domestic demand, government spending and increased foreign investment. IBM is seeing increasing demand for its solutions and services in the fast-growing regions beyond the capital Manila as the Philippines government works to stimulate growth across the country.

"2012 has been an important year for IBM in the Philippines. Not only have we marked 75 years of business operations in the country, but with new offices in Pampanga and Davao, we have also intensified our focus on emerging regions beyond Manila, in line with the government's Next Wave Cities program," said Mariels Almeda Winhoffer, Country General Manager, IBM Philippines.

Central Luzon, where the Pampanga office is located, has two of the country's premier economic zones – Clark and Subic Bay Freeport Zones - and other industrial areas that generate jobs and revenue for the country. Composed of seven provinces, the region has an international airport, a seaport, industrial and agricultural areas and rapidly evolving tourism and services industries.

Davao City is an important financial and trade center located in the Mindanao region in the East of the Philippines. Its strategic location makes it an important trade center for the region and has strong international links with neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Australia. Earlier this year IBM announced that it is working with the Davao City Government to provide its Intelligent Operations Center solution to help Davao to scale-up its existing Public Safety and Security Command Center to further enhance public safety operations in the city.

IBM's commitment and focus in the Philippines reaches beyond traditional business frontiers. The company actively partners with local ICT groups, government organizations, business chambers and academic institutions to promote and harness technology to support the region's economic development.

IBM recently deployed teams of high-performing employees from various parts of the world to Central Luzon as part of its IBM Corporate Service Corps program.  The IBM employees were deployed to Olangapo City Government, Subic Bay Management Authority (SBMA), Comteq Computer & Business College, Hanafil Golf and Tour, IDESS Interactive Technologies and IDESS Maritime Training Center where they worked on a pro-bono basis on projects related to skills development and IT transformation.

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Media contacts:
Owen Cammayo
IBM Philippines  
+632 995-2519 
cammayol@ph.ibm.com

Jonathan Batty
IBM Growth Markets Unit
48-693-93-5403  
Jonathan.Batty@pl.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM