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Vimala Vasan

Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy

ABU DHABI, Dec. 22

CHINA is very much on the agenda for Infosys, as part of its global expansion strategy that also covers Australia, Africa and South America in the coming year, said Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies.

Mr Murthy told Business Line in an interview just prior to his departure on Sunday, after a successful visit to the UAE, ``Infosys would like to enter China as early as possible. We are only waiting to receive permission from the Chinese Government to go ahead with our plans.''

As part of plans for a wide expansion globally, he said that Infosys was also going to focus strongly on three areas — South America, Africa and Australia in the coming year. ``We have a strong presence now in Europe and increased our presence in Canada. We have also entered the Australian, South American and African markets and our focus will be on these three countries in the coming months,'' he said. When queried as to whether Infosys should have entered the West Asian and Gulf market earlier, Mr Murthy said, ``I think this is a good time to enter this market. Not only does this region have great potential, but it is also the time when Infosys is becoming a bigger company globally. So this is the right time.''

According to him, the company is financially very strong and there is no need for any kind of investment by foreign companies. ``When we do a second listing of ADR, anyone is free to buy shares. But we do not need any foreign funds as direct investment,'' he said.

When asked as to whether he was happy with the direction Infosys was heading after he handed over day-to-day operations, Mr Murthy said, ``Our aim is for Infosys to become a globally respected corporation. For us, respect is very important. We will continue to focus on leveraging the best talent and technology. As such, yes, I am happy with the direction in which Infosys is heading.''

Mr Girish Vaidya, Vice-President and Head of Business Banking Unit, Infosys, told Business Line that the company had registered a 100 per cent growth in the West Asia and Gulf since it began operations here around two years back.

``We are in discussions with clients all over the UAE and the response is very positive. We are also looking at West Asian markets such as Syria and Jordan and countries in North Africa like Egypt and Libya.''

The banking sector in these countries was expected to be the focus of operations, he added.

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