New Delhi: The business process outsourcing market in the Asia-Pacific (A-Pac) region, excluding Japan, will reach $9.5 billion in 2016, up from $5.9 billion as of last year, according to research firm Gartner.

In 2012, the BPO market in the A-Pac region is on pace to reach $6.45 billion, Gartner said in a statement.

"The Asia/Pacific BPO market is still relatively underdeveloped and underexploited (with the exception of Australia and New Zealand) when compared with other markets or regions," Gartner Research Director T J Singh said.

This presents opportunities to BPO service providers that are willing to invest in the region, he added.

According to Gartner, key drivers for BPO buyers in the A-Pac region are scalability, quality, best-of-breed process and technology infusion, and improved service levels.

"Cost continues to be a consideration in all deals. A-Pac is an immature market for BPO services. No one provider dominates every type of BPO service, and very few BPO providers can successfully demonstrate true regional or Pan- Asia/Pacific BPO capabilities for multiple processes," Gartner said.

The largest BPO market in the region in 2011 was Australia, with a market size of more than $4.63 billion, over 3.5 times larger than India ($1.26 billion), the second-largest consumer of BPO services.

The fastest-growing BPO markets within A-Pac will continue to be led by China and India, Gartner said.

Banking and financial services, communications, government (both local and federal), technology, retail, and travel and transportation continue to be the largest consumers of BPO services in the region, it added.

A-Pac continues to present service providers with lucrative high-growth and profitable markets that are still relatively underdeveloped and untapped.