A.P. Moller-Maersk sets up its Global Service Centre in Chengdu, China
Logistics giant A.P. Moller-Maersk Group has decided to locate its global service centre in Tianfu Software Park in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province, showing its commitment to expand operations in China. "After careful and thorough evaluations in China and other countries, we finally chose Chengdu," said Shi Kesheng, vice president of Maersk Group. Key decision factors were: competitiveness in business; high efficiency in government approvals; a big talent pool; and huge market potential.
Maersk is considering to further increase investments in Chengdu as part of efforts to expand business in the western market, said Shao Wei, a managing director of Maersk.
In recent years, lowering operating costs has become a new priority for many global companies, causing a rising number of foreign firms locating their shared service centres in China. Chengdu, the economic and financial hub of southwestern China, has been an ideal location for global companies to take advantage of the city's developed infrastructure, talented human capital, open environment and lower operating costs. At present, Chengdu has gradually formed a certain cluster of shared service centres, with several world-class companies. Since 2008, there has been a noticeable rise in the number of centres being set up. For example, during the first half of 2009, Accenture, DHL, JPMorgan as well as Volkswagen opened their offices in Chengdu, and 134 "Fortune 500" listed companies already have market presence in the city.
If you are considering offshoring or outsourcing your finance operations, come to the 'Attaining F&A Shared Services Process Excellence' event, taking place next March in London.
