ASEAN for Shared Services: Costs, Taxes and Talent

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with its combined population of approximately 625 million people, and nominal GDP of more than $2.6 trillion, is a force to be reckoned with. If the region represented a single country, it would rank at the seventh largest economy in the world. For shared services leaders around the globe this presents a significant opportunity. SSON and Dart recently reviewed our extensive database to compare SSC concentration across the region, identify its relative strengths and weaknesses, and assess its talent pools. [click on image above to see visual report] What stands out most is the significant growth of shared services across the ASEAN region. Since 2010, the number of SSCs has grown by nearly 70%. Most of this growth is led by Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore – whereby Malaysia currently hosts the largest percentage of ASEAN SSCs (more than a third). We also see a lot of growth spurred as a result of the global financial crisis of 2008. Some interesting differences emerge as we drill down into industries. In terms of retail trade, automotive, and agriculture, Singapore leads in SSCs by a large margin; for real estate the Philippines hosts nearly half of all SSCs in the region; but for most of the rest Malaysia is comfortably ahead. With data analytics high on everyone's agenda, it's interesting to note, too, that most of the talent employed across the region is also located in Malaysia – nearly half of all analytics-based services. Again, differences appear when we drill down into specific industries; for example, in banking, finance, and insurance the Philippines equals Malaysia in terms of analytics-based shared services. Other global trends are equally represented: nearly a fifth of all shared services are now multifunctional, analytics is a growing capability, and we see more activity around marketing and compliance. For organizations looking at new opportunities, this report serves to highlight the "gap" in Indonesia, which produces the most graduates annually as well as attractive salary gaps. The report also identifies countries’ cost of doing business, tax and salaries. What we find is that in many cases cheap office rental is significantly offset by higher corporate tax rates. Similarly, the ability to identify risk, whether regulatory, geo-political, or currency-based is a valuable tool for enterprise leaders evaluating a more global footprint. So, while Vietnam and Thailand show a very small currency risk, organizations will have to evaluate and weigh up the advantages of a relatively untapped market compared to the more prevalent regulatory risk of both countries. The overall "risk" winner? Singapore, no surprise. But then there are the costs… Find out for yourself which countries best match your operational objectives in this visual report [or to access, click on map above].

ASEAN for Shared Services: Costs, Taxes and Talent

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ASEAN for Shared Services: Costs, Taxes and Talent

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