U.S. firm to open call centre in Kolkata

Thursday, 29 May 2003, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
Miami-based Epixtar Corp. will set up a 1,000-seat call centre by end-2003, West Bengal's IT Minister Manab Mukherjee said.

KOLKATA: "Gradually they will increase the capacity of the centre to 3,000 seats," announced Mukherjee, who held a meeting with Epixtar officials Tuesday. Epixtar's corporate strategist Tod Fisch told the minister that they had chosen the city over Mumbai keeping in mind "the good talent pool and little competition". "This will be Epixtar's first call centre in India. The company has a presence in the Philippines and is planning to enter Malaysia," Mukherjee said, adding that the telecom and Internet company's initial investment in the Kolkata venture would be around $5 million. Epixtar is entering India even as some states in the U.S. are trying to bring legislation to stop outsourcing of work abroad, especially to this South Asian nation that has emerged as the electronic housekeeper to the world with its booming IT-enabled services sector. Fisch is planning to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in the next few days. The government has offered several sites at the Salt Lake Electronics Complex for the company to open its office. Once established, the call centre will offer jobs to about 2,000 people. Apart from local talent, the company will hire people from Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Source: IANS