India remains top offshoring destination.According to the annual classification by the firm AT Kearney, India remains the country best placed as an offshoring destination for services, followed by China and Malaysia. These three countries have remained in the lead since the 2004 classification. The countries of Central Europe and the East, on the other hand, are paying for the consequences of the economic and financial crisis and falling in the ranking to the advantage of the Asian countries (Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka), the Middle and Near East (Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates) and North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia). India has the advantage of having a qualified labour force with perfect English, at a cost far lower than in the United States or the eurozone. China, which also has a well-trained labour force and interesting cost possibilities for American and Japanese entrepreneurs, suffers on the other hand from a lack of evident language capabilities and the problem of respect for intellectual property. Furthermore, the Chinese economy tends more towards industry than towards services. In Eastern Europe, taking 2009 results compared to 2007, the Czech Republic falls from 4th to 32nd position, Slovakia from 12th to 40th, Poland from 18th to 38th, and Hungary from 24th to 37th. The main reason for this shift is the upsurge in costs after the appreciation in national currencies compared to the dollar and wage inflation in these countries, the survey states. Only Romania (19th from 33rd) has done well. Bulgaria has not dropped too much in the ranking (13th from 9th). Another characteristic of 2009 is that European companies have followed closely on the heels of their American counterparts in relocating their services, although American companies still represent 70% of relocation costs. The study also highlights the fact that companies not only carry out offshoring but also increasingly sub-contract their activities to local firms. (I.L./transl.jl)