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Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's low costs has helped it to be ranked among the top 20 global outsourcing destinations for information technology and business process outsourcing (IT/BPO), an industry body said in a statement. The A T Kearney report points out that Sri Lanka has advantages considering its proximity to India, and the increased supply of the number of UK qualified accounting and finance professionals.

This allows the country to function as a backup to Indian outsourcing centres.

SLASSCOM said the economic crisis is creating volatility in the outsourcing business with a recent decline in growth expected to continue. The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) quoted a survey by consulting firm A T Kearney as placing the island in 16th position among IT and BPO destinations, up from 29th position in 2007.

Sri Lanka is one of the few countries to have risen so much in A T Kearney’s Global Services Location Index (GSLI) ranking of the top 50 countries for outsourcing globally, it said.

"The report stated that Sri Lanka has been promoted in the ranks assisted by low costs compared to the rest of the destinations," SLASSCOM said.

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