The Top 5 Countries for Outsourcing in East Asia
March 29, 2018
East Asia is rich with outsourcing opportunities for companies looking to expand overseas. Countries like China, Japan, and Hong Kong all have strong economies and large workforces which make them ideal for outsourcing.
Although several of the countries on this list don’t appear in indexes like the A.T. Kearney, there are still many reasons to consider East Asia for your outsourcing needs. Ranked on a variety of economic factors, here is a list of the top five countries for outsourcing in East Asia:
- China
China has experienced unprecedented economic growth over the past 20 years. The country has 1.4 billion citizens and the GDP annual growth rate averaged 9.6 percent between 1989 and 2017. It’s clear that China’s growth has given the nation a major foothold in the world’s economy.
China ranked second overall on the 2017 A.T. Kearney index with particularly high rankings in financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, and business environment. Other sources ranked China as the second most popular destination for outsourcing and 36 percent of large companies are relocating jobs there.
- Hong Kong
Though Hong Kong is technically a special administrative region of China it is considered a separate entity. Hong Kong ranked number one on the Financial Development Index, beating out both the United States and the U.K.
Like other countries on this list, Hong Kong does not appear in many global outsourcing indexes. This is likely due to Hong Kong’s high cost of living and growing average monthly salary.However, there are many benefits to outsourcing work in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has a skilled workforce and English is one their official languages.
- Japan
Japan has the 11th largest population in the world with over 127 million citizens. They have a large modern economy and skilled Japanese labor available on the global market.And a trade policy article found that the majority of Korean outsourcing remains directed at Japan. This suggests that Japan is still a significant source of labor even in East Asia. - South Korea
Increasing wages in South Korea indicate a steadily growing economy. But like Hong Kong and Japan, the nation did not rank in many popular outsourcing indexes.
However, with a modern economy and large population, South Korea has a lot of potential for companies looking to outsource work. And their labor market is still largely underutilized with only four percent of multinational companies outsourcing work there.
- Taiwan
Taiwan has been referred to as a “shining star of the technology sphere.” According to recent U.N. rankings, Taiwan received a global ranking of 56 in world population. This puts the country on par with nations like Australia and Romania. Their population and well-developed infrastructure provide many outsourcing opportunities for international companies.
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