`Satyam can grow to 50,000 employees'

Ramalinga Raju, CMD of Satyam Computer, today said the company has the potential to grow from its current employee strength of 20,000 to 50,000 in a few years.

"There is a significant growth potential in the market for companies like Satyam. In a few years' time, we have the potential to move from 20,000 to 50,000 employees," Raju said.

This would, however, depend on how the market behaves and the opportunities available, he added.

"If the industry continues to grow at the current rate of 30-31% every year, exports of IT services alone will touch $1 trillion in the next 15-20 years," Raju said.

Hyderabad-based Satyam recently opened a development centre in Hungary and a marketing office in Brazil. It has also announced a sponsored ADS issue of $360 million.

Raju said India should leverage its lead in services sector to boost its manufacturing sector like China, which has asked its companies to set up production units in the country itself instead of outsourcing.