Poor Nations Eye Western Outsourcing

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By S. SRINIVASAN, Associated Press Writer

HYDERABAD, India - New options may be emerging in Asia for Western companies to outsource software and back-office work, with countries such as Bangladesh and Mongolia taking steps to produce skilled workers and improve facilities.


"We are small. But we have a young work force well skilled in information and communication technologies," Abdul Moyeen Khan, science and information technology minister for Bangladesh, said Tuesday at a meeting of Asian technology ministers in the south Indian tech center of Hyderabad.


He said Bangladesh already exports software to 23 countries, including the United States, and wants to emulate neighbor India, which is expected to generate $13 billion in revenue in the fiscal year ending in March 2004 from technology outsourcing.


Many companies in the United States and Europe farm out software writing, payroll accounting and customer service calls to firms in developing nations where wages are lower and English-speaking skilled workers are plentiful.

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