Press Release
XCHANGING TO BUILD A STATE-OF-THE-ART LOW CARBON BPO CENTRE IN A TIER 3 INDIAN TOWN
Signs agreement with the State Government of Karnataka to lease and jointly develop a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Shimoga, north-west of Bangalore
BANGALORE, 28 July 2010 - Xchanging plc (LSE: XCH), one of the largest and fastest growing global business processors, has today signed an agreement with the State Government of Karnataka to lease and jointly develop six acres of land in a new SEZ that is being developed in Shimoga - a tier 3 town north-west of Bangalore. Xchanging will build a state-of-the-art processing centre on this land, making it one of the first multinational companies to set up a centre in a tier 3 location in India.
Speaking on the Shimoga project, British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron said, "I welcome this latest news from David and his team in Karnataka which showcases the very best of UK and Indian ingenuity and creativity. My government is keen to lay the foundations of an enhanced relationship between Britain and India for the decades to come, and Xchanging has demonstrated here in India what can be achieved by British companies when successfully opening up new markets around the world".
Present at the contract signing were the Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. BS Yeddyurappa and Mr. David Andrews, CEO Xchanging who is part of the British Prime Minister David Cameron's business delegation to India.
This centre will have an initial capacity of 1,000 people with an option to scale to a 2,000 seat centre. The building will follow global best practice in design and technology to create a low carbon environment. The building will be a zero energy building, taking advantage of natural ventilation and lighting and an energy efficient design. This building will set the agenda for low energy construction in India. Construction on the site is anticipated to begin within the next two months and is expected to complete in 18 months from commencement. .
The new centre in Shimoga will be Xchanging's fourth major processing centre in India. Xchanging employs over 3,400 people in India and has three of its top ten global processing hubs in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Chennai. The company set foot in India in the year 2003 and has since then significantly expanded its operations in the country. In 2008 Xchanging announced the acquisition of Cambridge Solutions Limited, listed on the Indian stock exchanges.
Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr. BS Yeddyurappa stated, "Entry of a multi-national in Shimoga is an indication of the potential of tier 2 and tier 3 cities of Karnataka. Xchanging's association in joint development of the SEZ IT Park at Shimoga would usher in IT penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. I congratulate Xchanging for this initiative".
"India is the undoubted global BPO powerhouse," added Mr. David Andrews, CEO Xchanging. "Today more than one-third of Xchanging's workforce is Indian, complementing our strength in the UK, Germany and the USA. We have invested in India for the engineering excellence that the country has to offer and the opportunities that exist in this fast growing economy. Shimoga is a landmark project. It paves the way to the yet untapped semi-urban potential of India. We are grateful to the Government of Karnataka for their support" he said.
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For further information, please contact:
Xchanging
Meeta Thareja Tel: +44 (0)20 7780 5374
meeta.thareja@xchanging.com
India - Gutenberg Communications Tel: +91 (0) 41324969 / 968 / 291
Sonali Madbhavi
sonali@gutenbergpr.com
UK - Cardew Group Tel: +44 (0)20 7930 0777
Rupert Pittman / David Roach
xchanging@cardewgroup.com
About Xchanging
Xchanging is one of the largest and fastest growing business processors. With a wide range of multinational customers in 42 countries and employing over 8,000 people, we are a truly global company. Our aim is simply to provide business processing services better, cheaper and faster.
Xchanging provides procurement, accounting, human resources and technology services across industries. These include banking, insurance, manufacturing, retail and real estate among others. We combine functional expertise with deep industry domain knowledge to provide industry-specific outcomes for our customers.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2007, the company is in the FTSE250, the index of mid-capitalised companies traded on the London Stock Exchange. Xchanging is also a member of the FTSE4Good index which measures the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards.
www.xchanging.com