As per the Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018, China has the highest ranking (27) among the BRICS group of large emerging markets. The Chinese government is focused on improving business environment in the country, mainly by introducing several reforms to cut red tape and improve ease of rules/regulations for multinational companies. However, risk from natural disasters continues to threaten the business operations that do not have appropriate business continuity plans in the country.

Amidst the significant upheaval in IT industry owing to automation, rising protectionism and US visa policy curbs, India is aggressively pursuing newer markets such as Australia, Sweden along with Mexico and Mauritius for IT exports in a bid to diversify its reliance on the US and Europe, and to increase the IT outsourcing market size. However, IT companies are grappling with stringent visa curbs/restrictions by several countries such as US, Australia and Singapore.

A business friendly environment, attractive corporate tax rates, various incentives by government and easy access on other European market are some of the attributes which makes Ireland one of the most preferred destinations in Europe. The country has good English-speaking workforce, developing infrastructure along with political stability. Despite Brexit uncertainty, Ireland’s IT industry continues to grow. However, the country’s rating in ‘The Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018’ has dropped by one place to 24th position out of 137 countries surveyed by the World Economic Forum.

Poland reported a strong performance in GDP growth, reaching its highest level since the last quarter of 2011. Also, the fiscal & trade balance witnessed a considerable improvement from the previous quarter. Being a top player in the SSC/BPO sector in Central and Eastern Europe, the country is aided by good chunk of English speaking work force and is suitably ranked at 11th position in 2017 English Proficiency Index rankings, ahead of most Eastern European countries.

Geo-Political and Business Risks continue to be the major challenges for Philippines. Increase in terrorist attacks and crimes prompted governments of US, UK, Canada and Australia to issue severe travel warnings. In terms of doing business, despite a number of incentives and reforms, high risk is driven by red tape, lengthy procedures to start enterprises and poor credit coverage. On the positive front, Philippines’ President declared liberation of Marawi from ISIS-affiliated militants.

Colombia’s BPO sector boasts of an ideal infrastructure for exporting sales, e-commerce, customer service, technical support and back-office services. However, the shortfall of bi-lingual and multi-lingual workforce persists to be a challenge in the sector. The country also faces other significant challenges such as persistent protest by people groups and increasing cybercrime. On a positive front, the Colombian government signed a bilateral cease-fire agreement with ‘ELN’ (the last remaining major rebel group) as a step towards establishing a permanent peace deal.

Hungary is preferred location for investors who are looking for business expansion in Central and Eastern Europe region. Country’s outsourcing industry continues to expand as European and American firms prefer Hungary for nearshoring owing to its skilled talent pool and good multilingual proficiency. About 90% population speaks English. In ‘The Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018’ by World Economic Forum, Hungary ranked at 60th place out 137 economies around the world. However, bureaucratic inefficiencies, high salary for professionals and limited availability of workforce are some of the major challenges faced by the firms operating in Hungary.

Mexico is one of the prominent nations in the Latin American outsourcing industry with growing number of service providers and superior IT infrastructure. During the quarter, the credit rating agency ‘Fitch’ raised Mexico’s credit outlook from ‘Negative’ to ‘Stable’ citing lessened risks for economic growth and a stabilization of public debt. Geo-Political stability of the region remains one of the key concerns with social unrest in the form of protests and natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods.

Being one of the promising sourcing locations in the Asia Pacific, Vietnam is witnessing rising economic growth. During Q3 2017, GDP growth rate surged to 7.46%, highest since 2007, backed by solid expansion in services sector and exports. The country’s popularity as an attractive BPO destination is growing gradually driven by competitive operating costs. IT giants such as Microsoft and Intel continue to invest in Vietnam. However, shortage of skilled talent is a persistent issue. Also, the threat of cyber-attacks is high in the country.

Brazil’s economy continued to show signs of improvement with its first expansion since the first quarter of 2014 due to a rebound in household spending. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) also increased in the country when compared to the previous quarter. However, increasing budget deficit remains a major concern. Some of the other key challenges include social unrest in the form of violent protests and high crime rates.