Wipro wins over Aussie client despite WB ban

Wipro, the Bangalore-based business conglomerate with interests in IT and FMCG, said it has succeeded in “convincing” one of its recently-won international clients, Australia’s Origin Energy, about the circumstances under which the World Bank had imposed a ban on the company.

Wipro had bagged a multi-million dollar 10-year business transformation contract from Origin Energy after a successful bidding, which was participated by many Indian and global IT services providers.

However, the deal hung in balance after the World Bank slapped of a four-year ban on Wipro last month for ‘providing improper benefits to the bank’s staff’. Post this, Origin, which is a major player in the energy and utility space in Australia, had sought clarification from Wipro. “We provided all details to the clients regarding the situation that led to the World Bank incident and they are convinced,” a spokesperson for Wipro told Business Standard.

The company’s joint CEO, Suresh Vaswani, had signed the contract with Origin Energy in Sydney in October last year. As per the mandate of the contract, Wipro was committed to provide an integrated billing system as well as IT and back-office support for Origin’s retail business. The transition of the programme was supposed to happen towards the middle of 2009 and expected to be completed in the next two years.

Wipro derives over 8 per cent of its revenue from the energy and utility sectors. Wipro’s other clients in Australia include ANZ Bank, Telstra, Axa, Cadbury’s and Hutchison. Wipro has said that other than Origin Energy, no other clients had sought clarification from the firm on the World Bank ban.