Six overseas cos steer course for AP

R Ravichandran in Hyderabad

Six overseas companies are in advanced stage of negotiations with the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government for a possible $100 million investment in the state by early January 2002.

“We hope the deals are finalised in the next one month. The same will be made public during the three-day mega IT event—Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (Gitex),” Captain CK Veeresh, joint director, IT department of the AP government and man behind the Gitex told The Financial Express.

Gitex is being organised by the world’s third largest IT event organiser—Dubai World Trade Centre, for the first time in India at Hyderabad between January 7 and 9, 2002.

“The six companies have assured that they will invest in AP and are waiting for certain issues to be sorted out before signing MoUs,” Capt Veeresh said. “We expect the deals to be finalised in a month’s time,” he added.

“Though the event is being organised with less fanfare owing to the slowdown and the attack of September 11, we are excited over the tremendous response shown by the overseas companies,” Capt Veeresh said. This apart, some of the domestic companies too are expected to set up shop in Hyderabad, he claimed.

Refusing to disclose the names of the companies, Capt Veeresh said that there were two companies from the US, one each from Germany, the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific have shown keen interest in setting up ODCs, call centre operations, large insurance data centres and other IT-enabled service centres, he said.

“One particular US-based company has proposed to invest $30 million initially to set up a campus in Visakhapatnam and will increase to $150 million over a period three years,” Capt Veeresh said. “The three-day event will give much needed impetus to the IT industry in India and AP in particular,” he said. More than 100 companies, including ones from the US, Canada and Europe are expected to participate in the three-day event, which is exclusively for bondafide trade and specialist visitors, professionals and businessmen, he said.