BFL Software (India) Ltd and The Baring connection.
Wednesday, February 10, 1999
Info-Tech
Baring shifts focus to IT
Date: 10-02-1999 :: Pg: 07 :: Col: f
Our Bureau
MUMBAI, Feb. 9
BARING Private Equity Partners, which has so far not carved out specific industries for investments, has deviated from its policy to focus on the information technology sector in India, according to senior officials.
Mr. John Dare, Chairman, Baring Private Equity Partners, told reporters here that ''normally we don't specialise in any industry, but here have so far chosen to focus our strategy on software.'' There is a great strength in the industry to compete internationally, he said.
While its investments globally had been in varied industries, in India 50 per cent of the corpus of $30 millions so far invested had been in information technology companies, he said. Baring manages about $1.5 billions at the international level.
The key theme of investment here is knowledge-based industry, i.e., software where the industry is capable of getting orders in the highly competitive markets too, Mr. Christopher K.B. Brotchie, the Fund's Senior Partner in Asia, said. ''The information technology sector is the right place to be in at the moment,'' Mr. Brotchie said.
Out of the $250-million allocation for Asia, Baring had put $70 millions in China and was planning to raise another $150 millions for Asia, he said. ''A very reasonable chunk of it may come to India,'' he said.
BFL Software Ltd, the listed company in which Baring has a 52 per cent stake, had growth plans and aimed at 100 per cent revenue growth this year and 50 per cent in the subsequent year, Mr. B.V. Venkatesh, President of BFL, said. Though Indian software companies were leveraging on labour it could grow on this itself for another 10 years. Despite the fact that the focus of IT companies was on services, growth could be achieved as even in the case of a recession information technology services would be required, Mr. Venkatesh said.
Mr. S. Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, SRA Systems Ltd, an unlisted company where Baring has an equity stake, said the company was involved in turnkey software projects and its product on document management was one of the most successful.
Mphasis, an IT company floated by Mr. Jerry Rao where Baring is a partner, was planning to get listed on the Nasdaq in three or four years and the company was into development of software for the financial sector, Mr. Rao said.
Baring has also invested in a Pune-based company, BISIL, which is expanding into overseas markets such as Singapore and the US. ''Till recently we restricted our operations to the domestic market,'' Mr. Manoj Sinha, Managing Director of the company, said.
(Source:The Hindu-BusinessLine)
|
