Chinese companies penned almost CNY710 billion (USD103 billion) in contracts to outsource services in the first half of the year, up 29.3 percent annually, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The actual amount completed was 11.5 percent higher at CNY406 billion, the ministry said yesterday. Offshore deals rose 34.6 percent to make up CNY465 billion of the total, with CNY242.5 billion worth completed, up 7.9 percent. The amount of outsourced services completed in Russia surged 56.9 percent as China looked to extend its Belt and Road Initiative, the ministry added, saying the same figure rose 14.8 percent in Hong Kong and 20.2 percent in Europe. Data shows that there were an additional 1,800 companies completing outsourced work in China throughout the first half, and 225,000 professionals joined the sector. There were a total 10.9 million people doing outsourced work by the end of June, including 7 million college graduates. The value of contracts in testing, e-commerce and similar services surged 40 percent on the year, with cloud computing, artificial intelligence and big data all emerging as business areas that could be outsourced. Source: Yicai Global
