Hewlett-Packard is planning to ramp up the headcount at its outsourcing business unit in China, bucking the trend of multinationals cutting jobs amid the global economic crisis.

The US technology giant could increase the headcount by as much as 25 percent "as the domestic outsourcing market in China is still robust", said Andrew Lai, general manager, HP Global Delivery China Center.

"We believe that China may be able to revive its economy in a short time," said Lai, adding the priority for HP now is to recruit new university graduates and train talent in anticipation of a similar rebound in the outsourcing sector in the second half of this year.

HP's outsourcing unit in China currently employs about 3,600 people, based in five delivery centers in Shanghai, Beijing, Dalian, Chongqing and Wuhan. The company last year acquired outsourcing company Electronic Data Systems (EDS) for $13.9 billion, which had about 700 employees in China.

The international business, which accounts for three quarters of HP's outsourcing revenue in China, has been affected by the economic recession and the falling dollar. However, orders from domestic customers, such as China National Petroleum Corp and Bank of China, remained stable.

HP recently signed an agreement with the Chongqing Municipality to help train 5,000 university graduates.

Lai said the government's strong backing for the outsourcing industry as well as its 4-trillion yuan economic stimulus plan would ensure that the prospects of the industry remain robust.

In February, the State Council designated 20 cities as trial centres for the outsourcing business and provided them with tax incentives.

China gets most of its outsourcing orders from Japan and some US companies are expected to transfer many orders from India to China, said Li Jun, executive president of Beijing-based research firm CCID Consulting.

(China Daily March 14, 2009)