Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, today announced plans to set up a third global shared services outfit in Malaysia as part of its expansion plans in the Asia-Pacific region.
Pending MSC Malaysia-status accreditation, the proposed Global Innovation Centre (GIC) will see the company significantly expanding its staff strength in Malaysia from the current 90.
MSC Malaysia (Multimedia Super Corridor) was conceptualized in 1996 to launch Malaysia into the knowledge economy. It is a thriving global ICT (information and communications technology) hub, and a testbed for R&D (research and development) and ICT applications.
David Frigstad, chairman of Frost & Sullivan, said, "As a consulting company, nearly 90 percent of our global workforce is knowledge-based employees. Malaysia's value proposition is its diverse talent pool and skilled human capital which has been one of the major influencing factors for our growth and off-shoring expansion into Malaysia."
He adds that the Government's attractive incentives for foreign companies to set up operations within MSC Malaysia played a pivotal role in Frost & Sullivan's decision to house its third GIC in Malaysia.
"Asia is increasingly an important region for Frost & Sullivan, both in terms of revenue and profit contribution. We see Asia contributing a larger and bigger share to global revenues," Frigstad says.
He adds that Asia, which is the fastest growing region for the company, is likely to contribute 20 percent to global revenues by end of this year from 12 percent in 2005.
"We believe that much of our growth will continue to stem from Asia, with Malaysia being a key growth market," he says.
He also says that Frost & Sullivan's business in Asia has grown consistently, averaging at 50 percent annually for the last eight years.
"We hope that Asia will contribute as much as a third to Frost & Sullivan's global business by 2010," adds Frigstad.
"Our expansion in Malaysia also demonstrates our commitment to employees, stakeholders and most importantly, to our customers," Frigstad says.
"The unique multilingual workforce inherent to Malaysia made it the natural choice for our offshore investments and expansion in the greater Asia-Pacific region, as the centre will also focus on countries like China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea," he added.
Apart from intellectual capital and language proficiency, cost efficiencies and world-class infrastructure also provided the necessary fundamentals to establish the centre in Malaysia.
The GIC in Malaysia, expected to be operational early next year, will complement Frost & Sullivan's current offshore hubs in Chennai, India, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The two existing centers which currently house about 400 employees serve the company's global operations and network of offices in six continents.
Frigstad says that the GIC in Malaysia will house most of the company's consultants and analysts covering the Asia-Pacific, as well as world market in Information & Communications Technology; Automotive & Transportation; Aerospace & Defense; Industrial Automation & Electronics; Chemicals, Materials & Food; Energy & Power Systems; Environmental & Building Technologies; and Healthcare. Meanwhile, administrative back-office processing, IT services and support, and customer service, in addition to certain research functions, will remain in the Chennai centre.
Manoj Menon, partner at Frost & Sullivan says that the company has chosen Malaysia as its hub for the third GIC as the country is recognized as a versatile global shared services and outsourcing (SSO) location.
"Business process outsourcing (BPO) and off-shoring happens to be one of our many core consulting competencies. Based on our expertise in this field, Malaysia is often exploited for high-value jobs and regional project management, which is a necessary skill-set in our nature of business," adds Menon.
Frost & Sullivan currently has a staff strength of 1,500 employees based in 25 offices globally, 14 of which are in the Asia-Pacific region.
Badlisham Ghazali, CEO of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), says, "Frost & Sullivan's decision to set up base in Malaysia is proof that the MSC Malaysia initiative is a compelling factor in attracting high value investment to the country. We welcome the decision and look forward to adding Frost & Sullivan within our MSC Malaysia fraternity."
MDeC is the Government-owned agency mandated to manage the MSC Malaysia project.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com
Sarah Lourdes, Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific, Frost & Sullivan, + 603.6204.5878 sarah.lourdes@frost.com
Letticia Leopold, Corporate Communications - Asia Pacific, Frost & Sullivan, + 603.6204.5816 letticia.leopold@frost.com
Source: Frost & Sullivan (Business Wire India)