Dalian poses a threat to Indian cities - Aims to be on equal footing with Bangalore by 2018

By Harsha Pramod @ Monday, June 30, 2008 8:58 AM

Section - Outsourcing/Outsourcing

Dalian, a north-east Chinese city, aims to become a top information technology centre globally, according to Bernama News.

Encouraged by Bangalore’s success story, Dalian hopes to reach its target in a decade. Several international and local businesses have shown interest in Dalian as a location for their information technology outsourcing (ITO) and business process outsourcing (BPO) units.

Dalian is way ahead of other Chinese cities already, with nearly 50 multinationals having set up software R&D and service institutions in the city. Intel's plans to set up a 300mm fab in Dalian have created interest in other LED makers from Taiwan.

Dalian, which houses 700 IT/BPO enterprises and has a workforce of 60,000, reported an increase in income this year of $700 million, compared with last year. It is projected as the only software outsourcing international model city in China, a country whose IT market is predicted to grow to more than US$150 billion in 2008 and US$200 billion in 2010. In comparison, software exports from Karnataka, principally from Bangalore, increased from $11.3 billion in 2006-07 to $12.6 billion in 2007-08.

Dalian accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the total income of northeast China. A large IT park, Dalian Tiandi Software Hub, spread over an area of 26.5 sq km, is being developed in the city. The tech park would house residential apartments, shopping malls, IT training schools and R&D facilities.

A 2007 IDC study predicts that Indian cities such as Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai will face stiff competition from the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Dalian and Beijing. China is making a great effort to upscale its physical infrastructure and workforce, and is focusing on improving its skills in foreign languages, particularly English. X