Johannesburg, South Africa - November 14, 2011:
Wipro Technologies, the Global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing business of Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT), announced that it plans to set up a strategic delivery center in South Africa and create opportunities in the region for around 1000 skilled professionals in the next 3 years. Wipro had chosen South Africa as a market for potential growth and created a special structure to drive global presence and business growth in these focus geographies.
South Africa's IT spending is projected to increase from US$10.7bn in 2011 to about US$17.4bn in 2015. The largest industries contributing to South Africa's GDP include financial services, business services and manufacturing. The South African government has launched a number of initiatives to drive IT sector growth and bolster the position of the nation in the global economy. The country is a gateway to other countries in the EMEA region and Wipro has built up significant traction in Telecom, Financial Services and Oil and Gas industries in Africa. Its large talent pool with multi-lingual skills, proximity to the Middle East and Europe, and cultural and business understanding of the market in Africa is a huge benefit that Wipro is prepared to tap into.
Manoj Punja, Senior Vice President and Head – Focus Markets and Global Sales Operations, Wipro Technologies said, "South Africa's IT end-user spending, as a portion of real gross domestic product (GDP), will reach 8.6% in 2013. This positions the country at the upper-middle level of IT spender nations within emerging markets. Factors like the time zone advantage, language, cultural compatibility and skill access makes South Africa a favorable destination for the growth of business process outsourcing and IT services."
Mr. Punja added, "To tap the large pool of IT educated graduates, Wipro plans to initiate campus recruitment drives and establish training and skills development programs. These recruits will then undergo a competency evaluation test and be deputed on projects accordingly."
Wipro currently has an office in Johannesburg, South Africa and has around over 500 people onsite and offsite servicing its clients in the region. The company sees this region as a high potential market for growth and will help diversify its presence and portfolio, especially in the Financial and Telecommunications sector.
About Wipro Technologies
Wipro Technologies, the global IT business of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro Technologies delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology" – helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner's approach to delivering innovation and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro Technologies has 120,000 employees and clients across 54 countries.
For more information, please visit www.wipro.com
Media Contacts:
India:
US:
Eric Belove
Wipro Technologies
+1 732 216 6242
eric.belove@wipro.com
UK:
Rahul Kadavakolu
Wipro Technologies
+44 7920205496
rahul.kadavakolu@wipro.com
Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.
