Wipro set to invest $250 mn in Romania facility

Wipro has decided to invest up to $250 million for setting up a nearshoring facility in Romania.

The company also has plans to expand to Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, which would be undertaken through its APAC IT arm, Wipro Infotech.

"We are setting up a 250-seat call centre at Bucharest, Romania, and intend to offer technical engineering, accounting and financial services.The centre will start by the end of first quarter and will also act as a gateway to Europe, mainly eastern European nations," said T K Kurien, BPO chief, Wipro.

The centre will be set up by Wipro BPO which was formed after the acquisition of Spectramind. Wipro had acquired Spectramind in 2003 for $93 million.

He, however, did not divulge the investment earmarked for the venture.

According to industry sources, setting up a third-party BPO facility in India would entail a cost of around $7,000-10,000 per seat, and a captive call centre would cost at least 30-40 per cent more. A nearshore facility would cost more than double. "On a conservative estimate, Wipro is likely to invest around $250 million for the centre," they said.

Wipro is also in talks with at least six firms, including Fortune 1000 companies, that would be provided services out of Romania. "Our smallest customer has posted $2 billion in revenues in the previous financial year," said Kurien.

The company has a presence in Australia and plans to expand to other countries in the region. It is mainly concentrating on Malaysia.The company plans to provide information technology services to Malaysian financial, telecommunication,oil and gas, and automotive industries.