Skilled labor shortage hits Asian export growth<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): A shortage of skilled labor is restricting
\nexport growth in major Asian trading nations, senior company
\nexecutives across the region said in a survey released here
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
"This is especially so in Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan
\nand China, where more than six in 10 respondents perceived the
\nproblem," said the DHL-Gallup survey, which measures business
\nconfidence among exporters.<\/p>\n
A total of 1,125 executives were polled in 15 countries
\nincluding Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, New
\nZealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.<\/p>\n
The poll was commissioned by parcel delivery company DHL
\nWorldwide and conducted by the Gallup Organization.<\/p>\n
More than nine out of 10 exporters in Vietnam perceived a
\nshortage of skilled labor as restricting export growth over both
\nthe short and the long term, while more than seven out of 10
\nrespondents in Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan held the same view,
\nthe survey said.<\/p>\n
The survey also detected pessimism among exporters in
\nJapan, South Korea and China over export orders in the next 12
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
Across the region, there was a belief that the United States
\nand Europe were potential growth markets for regional exports in
\n1997.<\/p>\n
Exporters in a majority of countries cited cost and trade
\natmosphere as the most important factors affecting sales, it
\nsaid. Three in five Japanese respondents said the yen exchange
\nrate would play a large role.<\/p>\n
ASEAN countries were cited as the export markets which
\nexperienced the best growth in the last 12 months. ASEAN, or the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations, groups Brunei, Indonesia,
\nMalaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
"Over the next 12 months ASEAN countries are perceived to be a
\ngrowth area for exports by at least 40 percent of exporters in
\nseven of the 15 countries surveyed," the survey said.<\/p>\n
India, China and Vietnam were rated as the most difficult
\ncountries for initiation of trade, and Hong Kong and Singapore
\nthe easiest,<\/p>\n
The survey said a majority of executives expected stability in
\nHong Kong after the July 1 handover to China, with more than half
\nthe respondents believing the economy and business in Hong Kong
\nwill remain the same or improve.<\/p>\n
The exception was Singapore, in which nearly half the
\nrespondents expected the Hong Kong economy to be worse off, it
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/skilled-labor-shortage-hits-asian-export-growth-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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