M’sia expects US$3bil from global outsourcing

MALAYSIA can expect to attract at least US$3bil of the global outsourcing business that is expected to be worth US$500bil by 2008, said Multimedia Development Corp (MDC) senior vice-president Narayanan Kanan. 

This, he added, would lead to the creation of some 60,000 high-end jobs in the country. 

He said the strong growth in the outsourcing industry presented an opportunity for Malaysia to capitalise on its unique and strategic position in Asia. 

“The availability of a multi-lingual, highly skilled knowledge driven workforce makes Malaysia an ideal destination for service-oriented outsourcing businesses such as front-end call centres and customer relationship management (CRM) services,” Narayanan said during a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. 

At the briefing jointly organised by MDC, Malaysia Debt Ventures Bhd (MDV) and IDC Malaysia, he had earlier announced that Malaysia would organise a two-day Asia Pacific Outsourcing (Plus) Forum 2003 starting Sept 30 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The forum is expected to attract over 300 delegates across the region. 

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Shafie Mohd Salleh, in a speech read by Finance Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Hashim Ismail, said the growth of Malaysia as an outsourcing centre would create a new type of foreign direct new investment that would drive the outsourcing model, be it in manufacturing, telecommunications, finance, government or other services. 

“Malaysian firms now need to recognise this potential and heed the call to understand the market opportunities that lie in outsourcing. It is a win-win situation to all the parties involved,” Shafie said. 

Malaysia has so far attracted a number of multinational corporations (MNCs) to set up regional outsourcing centres in the country. Among them are Shell, HSBC, DHL Worldwide Express, Prudential, IBM and BMW.  

Narayanan said the growth of the outsourcing industry in the region as a resource hub for international businesses, had grown tremendously over the years. 

He said the regional industry, which was initially driven by India, had seen other Asian countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam emerging as preferred outsourcing hubs for back-end and front-end support for call centres, data management and web-based applications. 

“Combined with the expertise offered by other countries in this region, Malaysia together with the other Asia-Pacific nations are able to provide what no other geographic location can offer – a total end-to-end outsource service solution that can cater to the needs of any global multinational company,” he said. 

Among the companies that had been attracted by the total deal included Terra ICT with potential financing requirements of RM61mil, Union Kogaku (RM76mil), Picsel (RM114mil) and Telesis (RM114mil).