Third Global Outsourcing Summit (GOS) set to boost Nanjing

By Miao Jie (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-09-30 10:48

The third Global Outsourcing Summit (GOS) took place in Nanjing between Sept.3-5, 2009. This followed the inaugural event in Tianjin in 2007 and last year’s follow-up in Zhengzhou.

The Summit attracted more than 150 delegates from 24 countries and regions across the world to exchange views and ideas for future cooperation, with a particular emphasis on investment opportunities.

Highlights of the Summit included a number of high-level discussion panels, featuring several prestigious international political leaders, CEOs from the Fortune 500 Companies and VIPs from the Top 100 global outsourcing giants. The talks focused on the potential for developing the cooperation platform between Nanjing, Europe and North America. This is intended to create an mutual investment opportunity between the outsourcing enterprises of Nanjing and Taiwan and to enhance the image of the host city as one of the most important outsourcing centers in China.

In his welcoming address, Zhangweiguo, the deputy governor of Jiangsu province, said: “I sincerely extend my heartfelt thanks to all the people from all walks of life for the consistent support and concern for the development of Jiangsu and , in particular, Nanjing.”

“This Summit is a re-affirmation of Nanjing’s role in the development of high speed software and service outsourcing over recent years.”

The deputy governor returned to his theme during the closing ceremony, when he told delegates: “Investing in Jiangsu, especially in Nanjing, means in investing in the future and participating in an initiative that will boost both the city and the future of China.”

Nanjing has long been seen as a bridge linking China and the outside world. On the basis of its high level science and technology capabilities, rich educational recourses and state-of-the -art software innovation, the city has now become one of the ideal arenas for the development of the outsourcing industry.

Commenting on the city’s pre-eminence in this sphere, Dominique de Villepin, the Global Chairman of APCEO and former Prime Minister of France, said: “This is the reason why the Asia-Pacific CEO Association and International Outsourcing Center (IOC), the co-international hosts, chose Nanjing as the setting for this Summit.

“The world outsourcing industry is in the process of transition from India to other emerging countries. China is one of the most ideal destinations. Nanjing, with its mature infrastructure and complete industry chain, is perfectly positioned to take advantage of this opportunity and to take an enormous step forward in the development of its outsourcing industry.”

The three-day long Summit, together with its ongoing forums, face-to-face meetings and the opportunity to tour local facilities, established considerable interest in the city and its potential among Canadian and Australian delegates. This saw eleven contracts agreed during the conference between local software companies, foreign representatives and businesses in the Taiwan region.