Greater Efficiency and Expertise Drive Outsourcing Decisions in Asia

As part of our latest survey research into middle- and back-office outsourcing preferences across the Asia Pacific region, conducted in partnership with Global Custodian, we are taking a more detailed look at some of the regions represented by our survey respondents. Some of our largest groups of participants brought us perspectives from Hong Kong and China. Some trends are revealed in the responses from these groups, as well as some regional differences.

Overall, survey participants revealed a strong history of outsourcing, with all respondents from Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as 94% of those from China, reporting that they had previously outsourced at least one function. Results indicated high levels of satisfaction, with 100% of contributors from Hong Kong reporting that their previous outsourcing experiences had been as anticipated or better than anticipated, while 88% of contributors from China reported the same.

When we asked our survey participants to identify their key factors for selecting an outsourcing provider, Hong Kong and China respondents reported "greater efficiency" as their top factor. "Technology" was the least-chosen factor among the Hong Kong respondents-a sharp contrast to Singapore which rated technology as their top factor.

We asked our survey participants to prioritize their considerations when purchasing technology. In the APAC region, most respondents placed "ease of integration with existing systems" at the top of their list. However, the lowest-ranked factors varied within Greater China. In particular, Hong Kong respondents considered "ability to access data on a self-serve basis" as the least important criterion, while those in mainland China ranked "ease of use" at the bottom, with no participants choosing it as a factor.

Interestingly, Hong Kong and Australian market participants placed notably greater emphasis on "breadth of functionality," compared to their Singaporean counterparts, nearly tripling the importance assigned to this feature.

To learn more about the trends that emerged as part of this research, download the full report.