The Hindu Business Line : Taiwan IT body opens offshore centre

NOT MISSING THE BUS: (From left) Mr G.J. Huang, Executive Vice-President, Institute for Information Industry, Taiwan; Mr Y.S. Shih, Vice-Minister of Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan; and Mr Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom, at a press conference in Chennai on Monday. - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , May 15

The Taiwan-based Institute for Information Industry today opened its offshore development centre in Chennai, stated to be the first Taiwanese software venture in India. The institute will invest $1.5 million in the centre this year, which will go up to $6.7 million by 2008.

Dr Y.S. Shih, Vice-Minister of Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, inaugurated the centre.

The institute has taken 8,500 sq ft of space in Olympia Technology Park, and plans to recruit 60 information technology professionals by end of 2006, and ramp up to 200 by 2008. The centre will be engaged in software development for networking, security and embedded software, Dr G.J. Huang, Executive Vice-President of the institute told newspersons.

The centre would provide research and development for Taiwanese information, communication and technology (ICT) companies.

It will be an information exchange centre between the two countries, and enable joint venture between companies of the both countries. Taiwanese companies can also tap the huge Indian market, he said.

Dr Huang said key factors for choosing Chennai include the presence of companies such as Nokia and a large pool of skilled workforce. The centre will play a key role in the institute servicing its clients in diverse industries, he said.

The institute, established in 1979 as a joint government-private sector think tank and management consultancy, has been a key contributor of ICT in both public and private sector.

With over 1,400 employees, and more than 70 per cent of them having doctorate or masters qualification in computer engineering, the institute plays a pivotal role in Taiwan's ICT industry, says a press release.

Dr Shih, who is leading a delegation of Taiwanese industrialists to India, said the two countries are natural partners in dominating the global ICT sector. Currently, the trade between the two countries is $2.5 billion, and there is potential to reach $10 billion in the near future, he said.

According to Mr Kiran Karnik, President, National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), the Taiwanese investment is an important step for both countries.

IT, ITES revenue growth seen at 40%

India's information technology and IT-enabled services industry is likely to post revenues of $24 billion (numbers excluding domestic revenue) for fiscal ending March 31, 2006.

This is nearly 40 per cent increase over the 2004-05 performance of $17.2 billion, according to Mr Kiran Karnik. The Nasscom will announce the official numbers soon, he said.

It was another important year for the India's software industry not only in terms of increased revenue but also in terms of scope for new services, including infrastructure management, engineering services and knowledge process outsourcing, he said.

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