Recruiting in China

A number of Indian outsourcing companies have set up operations in China to tap the local market for IT services and to support the operations of some of their multinational clients in the country. Infosys, India's second-largest outsourcer, plans to increase its staff in China to 6,000 over the next five years.

India-based software outsourcing company Infosys plans to increase its investment in two new centers in China to a total of US$65 million over five years, after which it will be able to house a total of 6,000 engineers at its three centers in that country.

The centers will produce work in the areas of software development, IT services and business process outsourcing, and will also have training and research facilities.

Tapping Into China

A number of Indian outsourcing companies have set up operations in China to tap the local market for IT services and to support the operations of some of their multinational clients in the country.

Infosys plans to double the number of its workers in China to 1,000 this year. Bigger rival Tata Consultancy Services plans to increase the number of employees in China to 5,000 by 2010, from about 400 now.

"China is a domestic market for us because many of our multinational clients are expanding in China," Chief Executive Officer Nandan Nilekani said in an interview in Singapore.

It is a "potential source of resources for our global clients and a potential base for serving the region because of the" Chinese script, he said.

China's exports have soared as foreign companies, including many of Infosys' clients, have set up factories in the country to benefit from low labor costs.

Expansion in Line With Strategy

Expansion in China may also help Infosys boost business in Japan, the world's second-largest economy.

India's second-largest outsourcer, Infosys plans to increase its staff in China to 6,000 over the next five years.

"The expansion is in line with our strategy to tap local talent as well as to expand our global delivery model to other locations," said Bani Paintal Dhawan, a spokesperson for the company.

As of June 30, Infosys had 39,806 employees altogether, most of whom were located in India.

The company is setting up a center in Hanghzhou, China, at the Hanghzhou Hi-Tech Development Industry Zone, the company said in a statement.

The company said on Wednesday that it would set up a new center in Shanghai with seating capacity for 1,000 engineers over the next two years. That facility will be in addition to a facility the company already has at the Shanghai Pudong Software Park that employs about 250 people, according to Dhawan.

Low-Risk Delivery Model

The initial investment in the new Shanghai facility will be $10 million over the next two years, while the initial investment in Hanghzhou will be $15 million, according to the company.

Infosys provides consulting and IT services to clients globally -- as partners to conceptualize and realize technology driven business transformation initiatives. With over 58,000 employees worldwide, it uses a low-risk global delivery model to accelerate schedules with a high degree of time and cost predictability.