Local IT Services Sector Aims for Manpower and Business Expansion in 2007

Manpower for the local information technology (IT) services sector is expected to increase by 5.2% in 2007, according to a recent study conducted by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC).

The "Study on Hong Kong IT Services Sector 2006" was commissioned by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) of the HKSAR Government to provide an update on the development of the local sector. A total of 308 companies were interviewed by telephone in September and October 2006 of which 58% were small enterprises employing no more than 10 full-time staff in Hong Kong.

According to Mr K T Yung, General Manager (Information Technology Industry Development) of HKPC, the findings indicated that the local IT services sector has made provision for manpower expansion in 2007. "It is estimated that their number of employees in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas markets is likely to increase by 5.2%, 8.8% and 7.9% respectively in the next 12 months," he said.

"In addition, the local IT services sector is generally optimistic about opportunities in the Mainland with 72.4% indicating interest in developing this market in the near future. Market liberalization measures under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and increasing IT demands from Mainland companies are some of the contributing factors for this growing optimism," he said.

"The Study also found that 14% of the companies interviewed have overseas branch offices while another 54.4% expressed intention to expand beyond Hong Kong," Mr Yung added.

On the new growth areas, Mr Yung said that 26% and 21.1% of the respondents indicated interests in exporting software products and outsourcing services respectively.

"In collaboration with the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, HKPC will set up the Hong Kong Software Outsourcing Alliance (HKSOA) to support the local IT services sector in the development of outsourcing business. With solid experience in project management, Hong Kong IT companies can certainly make full use of the support of the HKSOA as well as other government funding schemes to enhance their competitiveness in the outsourcing business," he said.

Details of the "Study on Hong Kong IT Services Sector 2006" can be downloaded from the website of the Software Industry Information Centre of HKPC (www.siic.org.hk). For further information, please contact HKPC's Ms Amanda Chu at tel. (852) 2788 5842 or email: amandac@hkpc.org.

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Ms Betty Lee
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Website:www.hkpc.org

HKPC
14 March 2007