Exporting Your Services

Service Exporting and Asia Pacific Markets

Asia Pacific markets vary vastly in their degree of service sophistication and specialization. Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea in particular all have highly specialized, globally competitive service providers. Provided you have a common language for communication, working with a local partner should be feasible and ultimately profitable.

As a rapidly growing low income economy, China has focused on manufacturing to lead its economic expansion. This has meant the service infrastructure has had less attention. In 2005, China was the third largest importer of business services, behind the U.S. and Japan. While some of its needs can be supplied by sophisticated service firms in Hong Kong, there remain a wide range of opportunities for BC service exporters.

By 2005, India was the largest single exporter of computer and information services as well as the fifth largest exporter of business services in general. India has also been branching out successfully into high-value-added service exports such as health tourism. While a range of opportunities exist to export into India, an attractive option is partnering with India business and professional service firms, as the difference in cost structure between India and Canada can help make your service firm more cost competitive.

Within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies, there are excellent opportunities for BC service exporters in four areas in particular:

  1. quality of life services – i.e., education/training and health;
  2. infrastructure development;
  3. partnerships in science and technology innovation; and
  4. good governance.

 

Over 100 BC firms already supply education services to foreign students from the Asia Pacific, and additional regional opportunities could be explored through partnership with Singaporean training institutions.

Innovation partnership already has support through the ASEAN-Canada Biotechnology Information Network. Significant advances in science and technology are part of the ASEAN Vision 2020. Also, BC’s multimedia industry may find good export partnership opportunities into Malaysia’s multimedia corridor and the Philippines animation industry. Regarding good governance, there is particular demand for BC expertise in environmental regulations and enforcement to reduce environmental degradation.

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