Sundaram Fin BPO arm in JV with Dubai firm

Sundaram Business Services (SBS), the BPO arm of Sundaram Finance has formed a joint venture with Dubai-based ETA group for exploring BPO opportunities in the Gulf.

Gulf Outsourcing Services, the 40:60 JV with ETA having the majority share would target the BPO market in UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with specific focus on the banking and financial services vertical, Arif Rehman, director (finance) of ETA group, said here today.

The JV would open a full fledged office in Dubai soon...The plan is to set up a BPO facility in the Dubai Outsourcing Zone, he said.

The footprint in Dubai would allow the JV to provide clients with a full suite of processing options including onshore and offshore capabilities, T T Srinivasaraghavan, MD of Sundaram Finance, said.

ETA is setting up a 4 million sq. ft facility at a cost of Rs 500 crore on Old Mahabalipuram Road here, the first phase of which would be ready soon, Rehman said.

SBS would hire over 200 people this year, to take its headcount to about 700, Harsha Viji, senior VP of SBS, said.