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Dalian opens IT park in Japan

By Zhu Chengpei and Zhang Xiaomin (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-03 16:55

Dalian, the port city in Northeast China's Liaoning province opened a software park in Tokyo, Japan today.

As the first software park founded by a Chinese city in other countries, Dalian (Japan) Software Park set a milestone for the development of China's IT outsourcing industry, said Shan Qingjiang, an official with the Department of Trade in Services of the Ministry of Commerce.

"It will surely boost Dalian's IT outsourcing sector by building a bridge between the home companies and their Japanese clients," Shan commented.

He hopes the park will also serve as a platform for Japan-oriented outsourcing businesses of other domestic cities.

More than 200 Japanese government officials and business leaders attended the opening ceremony.

Dalian (Japan) Software Park comprises of a core park and four branch parks, which are located in four different areas of Tokyo.

The core park is an investment by the administrative committee of Dalian's high-tech industrial zone. The branch parks are subsidiaries of four Dalian-based companies, Dalian Software Park, Dalian Hi-Think Computer Technology Co Ltd, Hisoft Technology (Dalian) Co Ltd, and Neusoft Group Ltd.

"With the rapid development of Dalian's Japan-oriented IT outsourcing business, more and more home companies are setting up subsidiaries in Japan," said Dai Yulin, vice mayor of the city.

Statistics from Dalian's information industry bureau show that more than 20 local companies have set up their Japan branch offices.

But the small-sized companies can hardly afford the high cost of renting offices in Japan which is why the core park invested by the government can meet their needs, according to Dai.

By mid-November, 35 companies signed contracts to move into the core park, which can accommodate 73 companies.

Since 1998, when it began to put more emphasis on the development of the software and service outsourcing sector, Dalian has grown into a major destination of Japanese businesses.

Now there are nearly 800 companies and 70,000 people are engaged in the IT outsourcing industry in Dalian.

The export volume of the city's software industry is expected to exceed $1 billion in 2008.

"Although the global financial crisis is strongly hurting the world economy, Dalian's software and service outsourcing sector continues to develop quickly. We have found some new opportunities in the current crisis," said Dai.

He said the municipal government would continue to support the Japan park and make it a public service platform for the city's IT outsourcing companies.

"In the future, we will consider the feasibility of replicating the model in western countries," he added.