When US software engineer Duc Hang arrived in Chengdu in 2006, he had difficulty finding anyone who specialized in Oracle Corp's e-commerce software.

 

Most graduates from the city's information technology schools went to Shanghai or Shenzhen to find work.

 

But the intervening years have witnessed the explosive growth of the city's software sector.

 

Now more than 35,000 software engineers are working for the city's more than 300 software and service outsourcing companies.

 

Hang, now executive director of global delivery and head of AAXIS Software (Chengdu) Co Ltd, said 80 percent of his 200 employees have a Chengdu background.

 

This means that they are either graduates from Chengdu's colleges and universities, were born in Chengdu or the surrounding area, or have relations in the city.

 

This composition of workforce provides a precious stability to Hang's company, a US-based technology consulting firm with a client base that includes 20th Century Fox, Universal Cinema and Disney. A highly fluid workforce is a common complaint of many IT company bosses.

 

In addition to the city's strategic location, convenient international transport links, and strong local government support, the cost of labor was another major factor that prompted Hang's company to move to Chengdu.

 

"Chengdu produces 46,000 college graduates in the IT field every year. Think if only half of them stay, that potential could be massive," Hang said. 

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