Cooperation cornerstone of Yida's growth

As the developer of Dalian Software Park (DLSP), Yida Group is proud of its cooperation with both the local government and its international partners in providing services to the city's IT sector.

"We attribute our success in the development of DLSP to three strategies we adopted - to run it as a 'private company with government aid', to share it with international partners and to support it with well-known institutes," said Sun Yinhuan, chairman of Yida Group.

Ten years ago the local government proposed a plan for building the Dalian Software Park. At that time other domestic cities were already building software parks, all of them funded by local governments - but Dalian chose a different path, seeking a private company as a partner. Yida Group was the one selected.

"We knew the software outsourcing industry would have a bright future. We also knew what the industry means to the city," Sun recalled. "So we decided to join in the government's plan despite of our lack of experience in the field."

"We did not eye short-term profits from the project," recalled Sun. "In fact, we still make little profit directly from it. But our commercial real estate around the park all sells well."

The government and the company played different roles in realizing the development plan. The government gave guidance and policy support, while Yida made the investment in buildings, detailed operations, marketing and management.

International community

Construction on DLSP began in 1998 and the park has since evolved into an international community of software development centers funded by 33 of the world's top 500 companies, including GE, IBM, HP, and Matsushita.

In the beginning, the DLSP targeted international companies, mostly through software outsourcing services for Japan.

Increasing numbers of global IT companies have since taken up residence, attracted by international-standard infrastructure, effective services, stable business environment, and high-quality human resources.

Ranked first among China's software parks, DLSP is now one of the biggest software outsourcing hubs in northeast Asia. There are nearly 400 companies operating in the park today.

In order to stay abreast with the development pace in Dalian's software and IT service industry, a second phase of the park is now under construction. The expansion will require a total investment of 20 billion yuan.

Sun, who well knows the importance of partnership, put forward a strategy of "going together with the giants" in its latest phase of development. Yida Group has as a result begun cooperation in its expansion with large international companies, including Nippei Toyama Corp (NTC), Neusoft Group, Matsushita, Singapore's Ascendas Pte, Hong Kong's Shui On Group, and JP Morgan Chase.

Last year, Yida became one of the 125 founding members of the Community of Global Growth Companies organized by the World Economic Forum.

Human resource support

Of all resources, Sun views human resources the most important. "Lack of talented people can be the bottleneck for the development of the industry, so since the very beginning we put great emphasis on the introduction and training of professionals."

In 1999, Yida Group set up an IT institute - Dalian Neusoft Institute of Information - in the software park with Neusoft Group. The institute trains students to meet companies' requirements.

"We have also held job fairs in the United States and Japan to draw the overseas Chinese scholars back to Dalian," Sun said.

At present, there are more than 200 IT training schools in the city, which is growing into an important research and development center for embedded software. Companies that have established research labs in Dalian include Omron, Alpine and Matsushita.

"In fact, many world-famous companies are attracted to Dalian partly because of sufficient IT human resources provided by our universities and various training institutions," Sun noted.

"GE and IBM are now cooperating with Neusoft institute and other local universities and colleges to train potential employees one or two years before they graduate."

(China Daily 03/18/2008 page16)