Industry news

China will extend tax incentives for outsourcing companies to a further 10 cities in an attempt to lure more firms from the industry to the country. Initially, 21 cities had been selected for the tax incentives in 2014 but the addition of a further 10 should help prove the commitment of the Chinese government to building an outsourcing industry. The tax incentives consist of a reduction in the CIT rate from 25 percent to 15 percent, while they can also benefit from an annual deduction for employee education expenses up to eight percent of total wages.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

More news on outsourcing in China.

Global customer experience and business process outsourcing company, Webhelp, has announced plans to recruit 120 people at its Cardiff site by the end of this year. The demand is for operations manager, customer service advisors and team leaders working on existing clients at the outsourcer’s base in the Welsh city. “This has been a terrific period for Webhelp. We have just added the ninth company to the Webhelp family in a 24-month period, with the acquisition of social media moderation business, Netino, and we have signed a number of high profile new clients, including Unilever and Shop Direct. We have also just been named the Customer Experience Provider of the Year at the recent Global Sourcing Association awards" said David Turner, CEO of Webhelp UK.

For more on the winners of the GSA UK Awards, click here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Automatia announced the launch of Finland’s first real-time multi-banking platform for mobile payments, named Siirto. Tieto has designed and implemented the service. Siirto is an open payment platform which follows the new regulations set by EU’s Payment Service Directive, paving the way for new innovations and payment solutions within the financial ecosystem. “Modern consumers are demanding real-time services in all aspects of their everyday life. That is why we are very excited and proud to launch Siirto” says Marko Vilo, the Managing Director of Automatia. Similar multi-banking and real-time services, like Swish in Sweden, have been greatly successful among consumers. The first Finnish banks are expected to launch their own mobile payment services, based on Automatia’s Siirto platform, in March 2017.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Fitch, the credit rating agency, has passed judgement on the Sri Lankan budget for 2017, and it is promising news. The budget will be in line with the stipulations of the IMF and will deliver key positive measures to boost the economy. However, Fitch points out that some of the predictions in the budget are optimistic and that the implementation of the plan is the more important aspect. The 2017 budget targets a fiscal deficit equivalent to 4.6% of GDP, down from an expected 5.4% in 2016 and 7.4% in 2015, when the deficit widened mainly because of sharp public-sector wage rises.

You can read more on the report here.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

More on Sri Lanka, click here.

The UK unemployment rate has fallen to 4.8% in the three months to September according to the Office for National Statistics. The Bank of England had predicted a rise in unemployment after the Brexit vote but unemployment appears to have defied the analysts. However, the rate of job creation appears to have slowed, with the 49,000 rise in the number of people in work in the three months to September down from August's 106,000. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in October increased by 9,800, the biggest rise since May.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

More news from Sourcing Focus.

UK inflation fell in October, although there were signs that the pressure on consumer prices is starting to build. Prices grew by 0.9% in the month, lower than the 1.1% predicted by analysts. After initially pushing up the prices of raw materials, the recent fall in the value of the pound is now starting to boost the price of goods leaving factories as well," ONS statistician Mike Prestwood said. The pound has fallen about 16% against the dollar and about 11% against the euro since June which is likely to push inflation higher in the coming months as the UK has a high propensity to import.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

In the 12-month period up to the end of June 2016, the Office for National Statistics estimates that there were almost 6 million instances of online fraud cybercrime in the UK. With many commentators focusing on high-profile, state-sponsored cyber-attacks, it remains to be seen how the £1.9 billion investment from the government will affect the UK’s SME community. “SMEs need to become more aware of the dangers of cybercrime and the options that they have available to them. There’s a perception that cybersecurity counter-measures are incredibly expensive, and therefore it’s better just to ignore the danger, put the head in the sand and hope not to be affected by cybercrime” says Tony Richardson, a veteran of the IT industry with 28 years of experience.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related news, click here.

Liberata, the business process innovation company, announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to deliver HR & Payroll and Finance & Accounting services, to a new government-owned company (Benefits Pension Digital & Technology Services Ltd). The one year contract, with a potential one year extension, has been secured under the G-Cloud Framework and is valued at circa £300,000 over the two years. Charlie Bruin, CEO of Liberata, commented: “This is a significant contract for Liberata as it is our first formal engagement with the DWP, and it further increases our footprint working with central government.”

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

The Victorian State Government has awarded Civica, a market leader in critical software applications, digital solutions and outsourcing services, a contract worth A$103.6 million for the provision of an integrated Infringements Enforcement and Warrants management system with ongoing support for 8 years. The ‘VIEW’ system will help to improve and streamline operations, allow increased self-service citizen engagement, and support the introduction of the Fines Reform Act 2014. “As a local IT provider with strong global backing and experience, we look forward to delivering a highly functional solution which encapsulates global best practice” said Richard Fiddis, Managing Director for Civica International.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Samsung has agreed to buy Harman International Industries for $8 billion. The acquisition of the maker of integrated car technologies places Samsung in a strong position for expansion into the connected digital economy after the problems with its Galaxy Note 7 phone. "Samsung is using its huge cash pile to pull ahead of rivals in the auto technology market. But it remains to be seen whether it will be able to grow into a company that will be able to compete with the likes of Bosch and Continental," said HDC Asset Management fund manager Park Jung-hoon. Harman will act as an independent subsidiary and will be the front line for Samsung’s push into digital automobiles.

For weekly news updates, subscribe to our email newsletter.