India Service Centre in Hyderabad officially launched

Hyderabad, Jun 26 (UNI) Global Investment Banker and Securities firm UBS AG today officially opened its India Service Centre (ISC) here announcing that it would ramp up the headcount to 500 by year end and invest 50 million Swiss Franc over the next year on its development.

The Hyderabad Centre, a global hub, will provide UBS business with knowledge services including research and analytics, business process offshoring transaction and data processing, and IT infrastructure support.

Operating with 180 persons the opening was the first phase of UBS's offshoring initiative in India. Sprawling over 11.5 acres, the Hyderabad campus had been built to accommodate a sizeable operation by the end of the year, and to expand in the future. It plans to raise its BPO seats, from 450 to 1500 by the first half of 2007.

Chief Financial Officer of UBS AG Mr Clive Standish told the reporters here the ISC was the latest of UBS's offshoring initiatives.

"It represents our determination to provide services with a flexible and efficient intrastructure. In addition, by matching the global revenue base with a diversified global cost base, concentration risks rare reduced", he said.

"UBS is the number one wealth manager in the world, as well a leading investment bank and asset manager, with over two trillion USD in client assets. We are committed to bringing our skills in each of these three areas to India", he added.

Mr Standish claimed that the ISC would be one of the global examples of the implementation of organic growth strategy and added that it would be cost effective and a quality resource for all business groups.

Chief Executive Officer of the new operation Vipul Khanna said the ISC's capabilities would provide UBS with increased flexibility to meet its resourcing requirements, expenses , and streamline the entire process. ' The launching of ISC would complement existing UBS offshoring, onshoring and outsourcing initiatives such as the Sydney IT Helpdesk and the outsourcing of IT development work in Shenzhen.

UNI DB JJ 1710