India News
Alcatel may shift services hub to India
Monday, 21, June 2010
European telecom gear maker Alcatel Lucent may set up its global services headquarters in India, chief executive Ben Verwaayen said on Friday. The telecom gear maker will invest over $500 million here over three years, if it decides to shift its services HQ.“India has a lot of potential in terms of people and cost. We are keen to make India our fourth pillar,” Mr Verwaayen said. It currently considers France, US and China as its three pillars.
The chief executive said the company will decide on relocating the services division over the coming weeks or months. If Alcatel-Lucent goes ahead with the move, it will be the second major telecom gear maker to take this step. In 2008, Nokia Siemens Networks had relocated its services HQ to India from Munich, and this division now accounts for over 45% of the company’s revenues. The company, which has been struggling with sales globally, posting a much-wider-than-expected first-quarter net loss and missing revenue forecasts, is betting big on India, the world’s fastest growing mobile market.
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