Citigroup merges two India IT operations

MUMBAI: Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company, on

Thursday said it has combined two of its infotech operations in India to form a

new company offering software products and services to the global financial

sector.

Christened OrbiTech Solutions Ltd., the company was created by combining

Citicorp Overseas Software Ltd. and Citibank India Technologies, both of which

had only Citigroup companies as customers.

"OrbiTech is enlarging its clientele now to other banks and financial

institutions in India and around the globe," Ram Bhagwat, managing director

of OrbiTech, told a news conference. OrbiTech has projected revenue of $62

million in the current year.

The company currently has 1,200 employees and will be hiring another 150

soon, officials said. It has software development centers in Bombay, Madras and

Hyderabad and will be opening another in Pune next year. "India is poised

for huge IT-spend in the financial sector and is an important market for us, but

we will be equally focused on the rest of the world," Dipak Rastogi,

vice-chairman of Citigroup Investments, said.

OrbiTech's growth strategy will include strategic acquisitions and possible

investments from financial strategic investors, he said. "Eventually there

will be an IPO, but it is too early to say when," he added. "We need

to diversify our customer base and investor base before that."

Citigroup also owns a 48.5 per cent stake in Bangalore-based i-flex solutions

Ltd., which also specializes in banking software. Its flagship FLEXCUBE product,

which enables automation in banking and finance companies, is one of the world's

largest selling back-office banking systems.

(C) Reuters Limited.