Executives from more than 100 of the world's Fortune 1,000 companies gathered in Shenzhen yesterday to look for Chinese software outsourcing partners.

These executives are here to attend the two-day 2005 China Outsourcing Forum, which opened yesterday. They are meeting dozens of Chinese software developers to sign outsourcing contracts that could increase China's software export volume and turn the country into a hot new global outsourcing destination.

It is the first time that Shenzhen has seen so many international software buyers, an indication that China is gaining an important position in the global outsourcing market, said Shenzhen Vice Mayor Liu Yingli at the opening ceremony.

"This summit will definitely boost the software industry in Shenzhen and become a milestone in the city's software development. We are dedicated to developing Shenzhen into a top software outsourcing base in China," Liu said.

Organized jointly by Shenzhen Software Park and Gartner Inc., a U.S. IT consulting company, the forum aims to act as a bridge between foreign buyers and Chinese sellers. It has attracted many companies, including British Telecom, AT&T, Sony and Swiss Federal Bank.

"With a well-educated young population and a flexible marketing system, Shenzhen is a good place for software outsourcing. We believe the summit can bring in some big buyers for local firms and benefit the city's software development," said Jamie Popkin, Gartner's group vice president yesterday.

Software outsourcing is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, and the global market value is worth US$300 billion each year. In the past two years, China has grown into a new outsourcing destination in Asia and an up-and-coming competitor for India, with an annual growth rate of 20 percent.

Editor: Donald