High street bank Barclays has announced the relocation of IT support workers from the UK to Singapore.

The decision to hire 1,500 staff in the south-east Asian city nation follows the axing of 2,000 IT support workers in the British Isles in a move to save money, highlighting another company's move to outsourcing their workforce.

It was also noted that the bank was planning to open more outlets in Shanghai and Pune, India, with Singapore becoming the centre for the company's retail and commercial banking businesses.

Chief executive of Barclays' global retail and commercial banking department Frits Seegers told the Straits Times: "We picked Singapore to be the technology heart for Barclays. We will put the high-value jobs in Singapore, as it offers the quality staff we need."

Barclays is also linked to the city through sport, sponsoring the Singapore Open, with this year's event being held in November at the Sentosa Golf Club.

According to a recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent) In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were 'guaranteed response times' and 'allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues'