Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has expressed concerns over slowing down of the Indian economy and Europe.
Addressing shareholders at the AGM, he said the global macroeconomic environment is delicately poised but added that there are still pockets of opportunities, according to a proxy shareholder who told Business Line .
Unlike Infosys AGM, media people are not invited to Wipro’s AGM unless they hold the company’s shares.
Premji pointed out that to tap into these pockets of opportunities, requires flexibility, agility and dexterity.
The company, in November last year, demerged its consumer care and lighting, medical diagnostic products and services and infrastructure engineering into a separate company called Wipro Enterprises Ltd, which - according to company officials - is aimed at making a Wipro a pure play IT company and unlock value to its shareholders.
At the time of the announcement, CEO of IT business and Executive Director T.K. Kurien had said that creating a technology-focused company will allow us it to better serve customer needs and accelerate investments necessary to capitalise on market growth opportunities. In the 2013 fiscal, Wipro picked up a stake in Opera Solutions to grow its data analytics business, which helps companies make informed decisions based on available data through technology.
Premji also touched upon the need to invest in people, specifically for increasing diversity of its employees, in a bid to address its operations, which span across different geographies.
Indian IT companies, off late are increasing their hiring in markets like the US, which has passed an Immigration Bill that requires hiring of more locals. However, it is not become a law. A few months ago, Wipro announced its intention to triple its headcount in Germany and plans to add 1,000 employees by 2016, from 500 employees.
On the BSE, Wipro shares were down 4.01 per cent at Rs 376.25. The company will announce its first quarter results on Friday.