'Slowdown in US economy still a speculation'

Bangalore, Apr 13: Allaying fears of the United States economy slowdown which may badly hit the Indian software industry, Infosys CEO and Managing Director Nandan M Nilekani today said there had been a lot of speculation on the matter, but spending on technology by the US companies will not diminish.

Speaking to newspersons after announcing the financial results for the just-ended financial year, he said different people had different views on the US economic slowdown. ''We are looking at all these issues and also getting feedback from our customers. We feel that global IT services have nothing to worry as there is natural hedge in this business. We are sure that our customers will drive continuously towards spending more on technology and the outsourced mode. This tendency will only become stronger and more efficient and this should help IT companies like Infosys,'' he added.

Mr Nilekani said that having looked at all the possibilities in the world economy and the market, Infosys had set itself a guidance of about 28 to 30 per cent growth for the present fiscal. ''I feel that it is reasonable and achievable.'' He said Infosys could demonstrate a strong growth due to investments it had made in building a strong brand, becoming the biggest investor in educating and training the human resources of the company, investing in sales and marketing and introducing new services every year. ''These things have happened during the last 15 years. What we see today is the cumulative result of our investment,'' he said.

UNI