Bribery, Health and Safety and Intellectual Property dominate legal agenda for manufacturers

Protecting Intellectual Property (IP) was also highlighted as an ongoing concern, with 59% of those questioned identifying a lack of protection for IP/infringement as a problem when looking at offshoring, the same result in the 2010 report, demonstrating that little has been done over the past year to build confidence in this area.

When looking at growth, 85% of the manufacturers surveyed highlighted the reduced corporation tax rate as key to future expansion and joint ventures remain the preferred method of new market entry with 36% of the vote, over acquisition of local operations with 22%.

The report also includes the issue of immigration caps, which were highlighted as having the potential for negative effects on recruitment for manufacturers, but which 74% of those questioned said had not had an impact on their business.

Looking at the global marketplace, the 2011 results still put China, India and Russia as the top three offshoring destinations for the next five years respectively but the balance between them has shifted slightly.  China and India have dipped slightly in percentage, with Russia gaining the fallout.