TCS to expand to Egypt, Oman

Dubai, April 28: India's largest IT-services provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has said it will open centres in Egypt, Abu Dhabi and Oman to focus more on emerging markets, especially West Asia and North Africa (Mena) owing to the the sub prime crisis and recession tendencies in the US, its main market.

''Mena has been active in the last couple of years as the infrastructure, energy, utility and alternative sources of energy are showing strong growth and there are robust opportunites for further growth,'' TCS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director S Ramadorai told Gulf News.

The company now has centres in Dubai, Riyadh, North Africa, Morocco and Bahrain in the Mena. The value of Mena's computer-services market is put at 50 million dollars and the region contributes three-five per cent to the Group's growth, while India contributions 11 per cent.

Mr Ramadorai, who took over as the CEO in 1996, has beeninstumental in building TCS into a 5.7 billion-dollars global software and services company. He has now set his sights on ensuring that TCs is maong the top ten software companies gloaoly.

He said the rupee's appreciation agianst the dollars has ergoded earnings of the company as most of theits sales are generated overseas. TCS gets almost 91 per cent of its sales from overseas, including 50 per cent from the US.

"We re concerned. The way the rupee drastically apprreciated in the last couple of months is definitely of concern. But we have done hedgihg against currency fluctuations and we're on a good wicket when it comes of hedging and there is nothing we can do wicket when it comes to hedging and there is nothing we can do beyond that,"Mr Ramadorai said.

UNI