Hiring in Asia is on the rise as the world is embracing remote working, and tech companies are eyeing Asia’s talent-rich hotspots.
Asia is Now the World’s Largest Market
By 2040, Asia will likely account for almost 40% of global consumption and generate more than 50% of world GDP, says a McKinsey Global Institute Paper. According to a 2019 Bain & Company Report, Southeast Asia’s middle class will expand to include 350 million people and continue its upward trajectory. Indeed, by 2022, 50 million new consumers will join the ranks of the middle class in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, contributing to the region’s growing $300 billion middle-class disposable income. Therefore, any company considering growth outside the borders of its home country should be looking to Asia, home to 21 of the world’s 30 largest cities. Notably, in 2018, Asian companies accounted for 43% of the revenue generated by the world’s top 100 tech firms. And it’s not just large tech firms leading the way — venture capital fundraising quadrupled from US$20 billion in 2014 to US$80 billion in 2018 — paving the way for the next generation of tech superpowers.
Asia is a Talent-rich Center for Tech Innovation
It’s not just the market and revenue opportunities driving companies into Asia, it’s the talent. Silicon Valley and the rest of the tech world has long known about the wealth of talent in India and China. Highly skilled tech talent pools are not just confined to these two tech juggernauts. Due to a growing middle class and increased public and private spending on education throughout the region — countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are also producing top tech talent like never before.
As global professional services firm KPMG has detailed in their annual survey of tech industry leaders, Singapore (which has long been noted for its deep talent pool) is also now seen as the top city in the world for taking over as the #1 tech innovation hub – beyond Silicon Valley. Altogether, seven of the top ten spots most likely to become the world’s next top tech innovation hub — are in Asia.
Notably, too, the Asia-Pacific region is home to approximately 35% of the world’s unicorns. And evolving digital advancements across industries and sectors has led to the need for diverse and newer tech-skills, and the emergence of new technology hubs in the Philippines, Malaysia, India and Indonesia, along with more established tech hubs in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong – have helped create a greater demand for tech talent region-wide.
US and European tech companies have long struggled to find enough talent within their borders, and with a pandemic making importing talent virtually impossible, there was a looming shortage just when that talent was needed the most. Then came the remote work revolution – which has enabled large and small companies alike to operate virtually anywhere in the world — including talent-rich hotspots in Asia.
Go Fast, Go Smart, GoGlobal
You can hire top tech talent throughout Asia quickly, compliantly and cost-effectively without the headaches and hassles of setting up your own legal entities via GoGlobal’s Employer of Record service. In countries like China and India, it can take months to set up an entity. Other locations like Indonesia require a great deal of capital, and even the easier countries will require ongoing accounting, tax and corporate compliance support. GoGlobal’s model is simple – companies can hire the talent through our series of legal entities in virtually every location in the region, and we provide the HR compliance and payroll support as well as offering the employees local support in their language. We offer competitive supplemental benefit packages so your company can compete with the top companies in the region, so “Go Fast – Go Smart – GoGlobal.”