British firm expanding back office unit in Shimoga

''We will sign an agreement with the state government in the presence of British Prime Minister David Cameron and Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday in Bangalore to set the 2,000-seat processing centre at Shimoga,'' Xchanging India chief financial officer Sri Krishna said.

Cameron will be in Bangalore with a high-profile delegation on his maiden official visit to India after he assumed office in May to visit IT bellwether Infosys Technologies and defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in the city.

The centre will be located on a six-acre land in the new special economic zone (SEZ) at Shimoga, the home town of Yeddyurappa and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s state unit president K S Eshwarappa.

“We will be the first multinational to set up such a green technology based centre in a tier-three location to grow our presence in the Indian sub-continent,” Krishna said, but did not disclose the proposed investment in the new facility.

The London-based BPO firm has been operating at Shimoga, about 270 km from this tech hub, from rented premises since 2008, employing about 300 youngsters from the region.
Xchanging founder and chief executive David Andrews will also be present on the occasion with his Indian subsidiary managing director Nimesh Soni.

As one of the leading business processors, the 750 million pound back office firm also operates from Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon in the National Capital Region.

“We provide non-voice based back office services spanning procurement, accounting, human resources and technology across industry verticals, including banking, insurance, manufacturing, retail and real estate,” Krishna said.

Combining functional expertise with domain knowledge, the company also offers industry-specific outcomes to its clients across 42 countries through an 8,000-strong workforce.