China's west and SE Asia seen as key manufacturing hubs
By Lee Chyen Yee
DAVOS, Switzerland | Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:25am IST
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Western China, India and southeast Asia will likely be the major low-cost global production bases in the next 15 to 20 years, though their infrastructure needs improving, a survey showed on Tuesday.
Manufacturers have already begun to move to rural western China from the increasing expensive eastern coastal areas, though poor infrastructure, especially roads, has impeded its potential, according to the survey by logistics company Agility (AGLT.KW) and Transport Intelligence.
"Developments of new roads and airports are underway, attempting to link this region with the eastern part of China, but it is too early to determine how effective these are," they said in a report released at the World Economic Forum here.
Besides China, global manufacturers are already tapping southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam, and India to make everything from T-shirts to electronic goods. Their appeal is seen growing as their domestic markets develop.
"Vietnam and India already compete with China as major global manufacturing hubs, both having lower labor costs. They also represent important consumer bases in the future," the companies said.
Some investments in the manufacturing sector have already started flowing into sub-Saharan Africa, but the continent is still lagging behind Asia and Latin America, the survey showed.
China, the workshop of the world, is also the most attractive country for logistics investments, with India, Brazil, Indonesia and Russia ranking behind, according to an Emerging Markets Logistics Index in the report.
Saudi Arabia is up four notches from last year, while Mexico, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Chile also made it to the top 10 in the index.
"Economic growth is, by far, the predominant factor with all of the countries listed in the top ten experiencing higher than average growth rates," the surveyors said.
"India, for example, is seen as a preferable manufacturing base for European and Middle Eastern markets, having far less distance to cover than Chinese exporters."
The index, which ranks 39 emerging countries on the attractiveness of logistics investments and was launched in Davos, put Bolivia, Kenya and Paraguay at the bottom of the list due to sluggish economies, weak infrastructure and security threats.
For full coverage, blogs and TV from Davos go to www.reuters.com/davos
(Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee; editing by Michael Stott)
【路透社达沃斯1月26日电】今天公布的一项调查结果显示,未来15—20年间,中国西部、印度和东南亚地区很有可能会成为全球制造商主要的低成本生产基地,不过它们的基础设施需要加以改善。
根据智傲物流集团和运输情报公司的调查报告,在中国,制造商已经开始将生产基地从成本越来越高的东部沿海地区搬迁到西部农村地区,不过,落后的基础设施、尤其是道路状况限制了中国西部的发展潜力。
在世界经济论坛公布的这份报告说:“中国正在建设新的道路和机场,目的是把东西部地区连接起来,但现在判断这些努力是否奏效还为时过早。”
除了中国,全球制造商已经开始在越南和泰国等东南亚国家以及印度生产从服装到电子产品的一系列商品。随着这些国家的国内市场日臻成熟,它们对全球制造商的吸引力也越来越大。
报告说:“越南和印度已在与中国争抢全球制造业中心的地位,这两个国家的劳动力成本都比中国低。它们还将成为未来重要的消费者基地。”
调查结果表明,非洲的撒哈拉沙漠以南地区已经吸引了制造业部门的一些投资,但仍然落后于亚洲和拉丁美洲。
根据报告中列出的“新兴市场物流指数”,世界工厂中国还是最吸引物流投资的国家,排在其后的是印度、巴西、印度尼西亚和俄罗斯。
在这个指数排名里,沙特阿拉伯比去年上升了4位,而墨西哥、土耳其和阿拉伯联合酋长国也跻身前十名。
报告说:“经济增长是占主导地位的因素,排在前10名的所有国家的增长率都在平均线以上。”
在该指数排名中,共列出了39个新兴国家。玻利维亚、肯尼亚和巴拉圭由于经济不景气、基础设施落后以及具有安全威胁而排在最后。
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