Infosys to set up second outsourcing facility in China

SHANGHAI — Indian outsourcing company Infosys Technologies Ltd. moved into its Shanghai office in February. Now, the company is running out of space and is scouting locations for a second outsourcing facility in China, a company executive said Wednesday.

“We’re already looking,” K.S. Suryaprakash, head of delivery operations at Infosys Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., said in an interview.

Infosys is building up its operations in China to tap into demand for IT outsourcing from Japanese and South Korean companies as well as from multinational companies that are doing business in China, Suryaprakash said. In the future, the company also hopes to be well positioned to provide outsourcing services to Chinese companies, he said.

“You may lose out to your competition if you don’t have a China presence,” Suryaprakash said.

Infosys is currently considering six Chinese cities as possible locations for a second development facility and will make a decision in the coming months on where a second development facility will be located, Suryprakash said. Local governments are wooing Infosys with incentives and other offers in hopes of being tapped as the location of the company’s second outsourcing facility, he said.

“It’s a good feeling,” Suryaprakash said.

Infosys will decide on a location based on several factors, including government incentives and the ability to establish a close relationship with local universities, Suryaprakash said. He did not specify which six cities are under consideration.

Infosys’ Shanghai office will reach its maximum capacity of 200 people in January, even though the company currently has a staff of 50 in Shanghai and doesn’t expect to employ 200 here until March next year. However, the Shanghai office must also accommodate workers from India who are assigned to China on short-term projects, Suryaprakash said.