EXL to invest in SEZs

Of the aggregate investment of $35 million, $10-15 million has been earmarked for land acquisition and $15-20 million for infrastructure development.Most BPOs and mid-sized IT companies have operations in Software Technology Parks of India(STPI).

While the government has extended the STPI scheme by a year (March 31, 2010),be further extended remains to be seen. The scheme provides for extension of the tax benefits under sections 10A and 10B to the STPI units.

Currently, the company's operations are spread over seven centres in Noida, Gurgaon and Pune. EXL is keen to have operations in SEZ in Pune and Noida. The company will roll out the plan in the next 12 months and is in talks with IT Secretaries of other state governments. EXL had applied for the Hyderabad SEZ as well but failed to get an approval.

The facilities in SEZs will be used for managing operations of new clients, while the operations of existing clients will continue to be managed from the facilities in STPI.

Rohit Kapoor, president and CEO, EXL, said, "With operations in the SEZs, we can get a 5-year tax holiday and that will be profitable for the new clients. But for existing clients, STPIs are beneficial. The only hurdle so far has been acquiring land. The state governments want the individual companies to develop these places but the land is difficult to acquire."

Kapoor also said that in the next five years, more facilities will come up in different locations in multiple cities, including tier I and tier II cities like Chandigarh and Jaipur that are close to developed areas.

The Nasdaq-listed BPO company had reported revenues of $50.9 million (Rs 208.6 crore) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, an increase of 27.8 per cent.