Shanghai, the 6,340-sq-km city is located on the Yangtze River Delta, the most affluent area in China. Bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to the west, Shanghai is also on East China Sea and Hangzhou Bay. Shanghai has a central location along China's coastline that has long made it a crucial gateway to the world. There are 13.7 million people living in the city. Shanghai, the financial center and the economic hub of China, is the most modern and industrialized city of the country.
As the former international financial center of the Far East, Shanghai remains the foremost financial city in the country. Shanghai is very much advanced and modernized, in terms of infrastructure, telecom and transport facilities. Shanghai, the country's financial hub on the front line in the opening up, has undoubtedly become a major engine of domestic economic growth, helping propel in the whole country. Today's Shanghai is a prosperous city full of vigor and with an abundance of development.
Due to its rapid development over the last two decades it has again become a leading global city, with significant influence in commerce, finance, technology and transport. Its cosmopolitan character, sophisticated and affluent consumers, and highly educated skilled labor force make it highly attractive to overseas investors. Shanghai has recorded double-digit growth for 15 consecutive years since 1992 to become the center of finance and trade in new China. Shanghai is now a major financial centre and the busiest container port in the world.
The lower labor costs in these cities, and promotion by local governments to attract the industry is resulting in investment being diverted from Shanghai, especially for IT and BPO services. One key differentiator between Shanghai and Tier-II cities in the country is the maturity of the technical labor pool. English language skills are rapidly improving and middle management is more qualified and employable to work in a global sourcing environment.
Shanghai’s location is advantageous; it has a wide service range, complete infrastructure and good city environment, which are desirable for the business development of software enterprises and software professionals. In recent years, Shanghai has developed favorable policies to encourage innovation, an export base structure, further cooperation with domestic governemnt to promote software export and thrust the comprehensive development of the software industry. This city has the advantage of a government that is enthusiastic about modern technology and supports software industry.
On the heels of a global shift in the manufacturing industry, the diversion of the service industry has also triggered a wave of global resource allocation. Service outsourcing has been pushed to the central stage of world economy. Driving the development of service outsourcing has become the major task for the Shanghai government to meet its strategic need for an economic structure oriented to a service economy. The Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Shanghai municipal government have placed great emphasis on outsourcing industry. Under guidance and full support from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), and efforts from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce (SCOFCOM), the city's service outsourcing industry is now reaping rewards.
