High time IT cos target Chinese market: Nasscom

Indian IT firms operating in China, which so far have been mainly catering to multinationals in the region, look to make a strong foray into the Chinese domestic market with help from the local government, Nasscom Som Mittal said here today.

Mittal, who along with TCS Asia Pacific chairman Girija Pande made a strong presentation on the strength of Indian IT at the India-China Business Technology Summit here, said the Indian IT companies are poised to make a dent into huge Chinese domestic market.

"We are getting sense of the business here.  This is the time for us to go beyond the traditional customer base...This is the time for us to grow given the fact that India has given openings for China, we have Chinese companies doing business in India, I think we are looking for a quid pro quo, where a little more trust will help us," he told PTI here.

Indian IT industry should take a long-term view of the Chinese domestic market which was estimated to be around USD 15 billion, he said at the summit which was attended by officials of over 300 companies.
 
While China is being used by the Indian firms as a base to serve the North Asian region besides their own multinational clients, they have not grown in the local Chinese market for various reasons, he said.

"The Chinese domestic market is a rapidly growing and any such market needs IT, which is where the Indian IT companies come in," he said.

Pande, whose company TCS has already made a strong foray into the Chinese market by working a out a joint venture with the Chinese government, said Indian IT companies need to focus on building relationships, customise the process methodologies to Chinese conditions, employ Chinese in senior posts and broad base their operations across China. "Then only we can be accepted in the local market," he said.

The Indian companies also should make deep investments and need time.  "We are the largest company here and leading the market. We have got four banking systems made and implemented. We got the IDC ranking as the No. 1 core banking system in China. What more you want?," he said.

A number of officials of Indian IT companies, including Wipro's Suchira Iyer, Patni chief executive Jeya Kumar and HCL's C P Thimmiah, took part in the get-together.