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Follow UsBANGALORE, INDIA: With the aim of marking a larger footprint of Karnataka in the global business map, the Global Investors Meet kicked off here today. The two-day meet is looking forward to a slew of investment from various sectors like aerospace, mineral, tourism, biotechnology, culture, automobile, information technology, infrastructure, power, food processing, textile, health and education.
On the opening day of the meet, software giant Wipro signed a Rs 537 crore MoU with the Government of Karnataka to set up a software development center in its Sarjapur Road facility in Bangalore. This is expected to employ 25,000 people.
Sharing Wipro’s investment plans, Wipro’s chairman Azim Premji announced that the company’s business is largely concentrated in the region, but as a part of expansion and diversification, it is looking at investment in Mysore.
He said, “The Bangalore center has around 40,000 employees, but with our expansion this would go up to additional 50,000 Bangalore and around 20,000 in Karnataka.”
Premji recommended the Government of Karnataka look at inviting the manufacturing units to invest in the state. “The Government of Karnataka should be more aggressive towards attracting the biggies of manufacturing industry,” he added.
Premji also said India's IT export revenue is expected to grow about 15 per cent in 2010-11, as the IT industry growth is back on track.
The Wipro chief pointed out that, for long, Tamil Nadu has been the desired investment destination for the manufacturing companies like Dell, Bosch, Nokia etc. Karnataka as a state, should look into diversifying from a global services destination to global investment destination.
Infy to open two more centers
Infosys CEO, Kris Gopalakrishnan announced that the IT giant would open a software development center in Sarjapur, Bangalore at a cost of Rs 2,250 crore. It will employ around 18,000 people.
Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla also announced that his company would invest around Rs 8000 crore in the state.
“We have invested around Rs 5000 crore in the state, till date and are looking at more investment of around Rs 8000 crore. This includes about Rs 3000 crore in setting up a cement plant, fibre plant, financial services, BPO etc,” he added.
He also announced to increase the market share of their telecom division, Idea Cellular, in Karnataka from the present 83 per cent to 90 per cent.
Other dignitaries present at the inaugural ceremony included ArcelorMittal chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal, ESSAR Group chairman Shashi Ruia, UB Group chief Vijay Mallya, former President of the Confederation of Indian Industries Venu Srinivasan, Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge, Sajjan Jindal of JSW Steels, among others.
On the first day of the event itself, 29 companies signed 41 MoUs, including Arcelor Mittal’s Rs. 30,000 crore integrated steel plant coupled with captive power plant, JSW’s proposed Rs. 15,000 crore capacity expansion of its integrated steel plant coupled with a captive power plant, and Rajshree Cements’ Rs. 3000 crore capacity expansion of its cement and captive power plants and United Breweries' Rs. 45 crore beer brewery project.