UK firm to invest Rs 700 crore

CHENNAI, July 25: The British FI Group Plc, which owns over 97 per cent equity in its Indian software outfit IIS Infotech Ltd, plans to i...

CHENNAI, July 25: The British FI Group Plc, which owns over 97 per cent equity in its Indian software outfit IIS Infotech Ltd, plans to invest around Rs 700 crore in the country. The amount, to be deployed over three years, will fund new acquisitions and projects in the Indian market.

IIS Infotech country manager for its new Websity project Anurag Dixit at a media briefing in Chennai on Friday said the British firm had already spent Rs 130 crore to mop up the shares of his company through two open offers in February and June ’98. The change of guard took place earlier in January ’98.

FI Group which purchased IIS Infotech shares at Rs 100.90 each plans to expand the company’s equity base to Rs 25 crore from the present Rs 16 crore. The Indian outfit, once it becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of FI Group, will retain its identity, Dixit said.

Story continues below this ad

IIS Infotech, with its 800-strong software team, operates in UK, USA,and Singapore through its subsidiaries. It also has operations in Mexico, South Africa, Israeland Holland.

In India, the company has software factories’ in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Dixit said world over the Y2K revenue curve was flattening out with the deadline near and most of the conversion projects tied up. The company has now turned its focus to Euro conversion projects in Europe for a piece of the action when EU countries switch over to the new currency. IIS Infotech has also drawn up plans for moving into Enterprise Resource Planning training.

On the Websity project, Dixit said the programme for graduates and undergraduates was a new concept dealing with Internet and multimedia technologies. In the south, Tamil Nadu and Kerala specifically, the company is setting up 20 Websity centres through their business associates Web Wizard and a network of franchisees. Nationwide, the network will comprise around a hundred centres.

The three-year programme will be priced slightly below courses of a similar duration offered by computer education leaders like Aptech and NIIT.

Story continues below this ad

Dixit said thecompany was banking on a massive demand for web professionals with the boom in Internet commerce set to take revenues beyond $50 billion by 2000 AD. The company would absorb some of the professionals trained at its centres depending upon requirements, he said.