MANILA, Philippines--The global recession is yet to make a major impact on the country's software industry, Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) chairman Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III said.

The CICT chief sought to allay fears due to recent news of layoffs in the country's electronics sector.

"We've seen no major impact so far on the software sector," Roxas-Chua said. "We believe that in the longer term, companies abroad will continue their outsourcing activities in order to cut costs."

"In fact, what we have right now and what we can offer as a country is an abundance of talent," he added.

Beng Coronel, president of the Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA), noted that the industry has surpassed its 30-percent revenue growth target for 2008.

PSIA represents more than a hundred software companies, which includes the biggest local companies providing outsourced services.

"We expect a lull in the first quarter since the crisis started to hit late last year," said Coronel. "But we do expect outsourcing to become a better option for our clients abroad as they try to curtail costs due to weakened demand."

PSIA estimated that member companies generated a total of more than $423 million in revenues in 2007. The group is expecting to increase revenues to a billion dollars by 2010.