3i Infotech expands presence in CIS

The launch is in line with 3i Infotech's strategy to expand and strengthen its customer engagements in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region. This milestone is being announced at a function to be held at the Hyatt Regency Almaty Rahat Palace Hotel, Almaty on July 1, 2005. The event will be inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to Kazakhstan, His Excellency Mr. Asoke Mukerji.

3i Infotech was till recently known as ICICI Infotech and, underwent a change in name prior to its subsequent public offering on the India's National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The buoyant nature of the Kazakhstan economy is reflected through the 9.4% GDP it attained in 2004. The boom was fueled by a combination of high world oil prices, expanded domestic production, buoyant investment, strong domestic consumption and prudent macroeconomic policies. (Source-Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakastan, Ministry of Finance, National Bank of Kazakhstan, Staff Estimates).

3i Infotech has acquired customers for its insurance solution, Premia and they include Heath-Lambert Insurance Brokers Almaty, ATF Policy, Kazakhinstrakh Insurance Company, Kazkommertspolicy Insurance Company. 3i Infotech has also received orders for its banking product suite from Valut-Tranzit Bank.

Opining on the launch of the local operations, Mr. Hari Padmanabhan, Executive Director and President, 3i Infotech said, "Our business strategy is to become leaders in emerging markets by leveraging our domain expertise in the Banking, Insurance and ERP space."

"Kazakhstan is a dynamic market with tremendous growth potential. Our Almaty based staff will facilitate easy access to customers in this region.

The launch of our local operations is a reiteration of our long term commitment to providing world class solutions for these economic powerhouses and, in the process, expanding our network," he further added.

Elaborating on the announcement Mr. Kalpesh Desai, Chief Operating Officer ­ Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA), 3i Infotech says, "Our presence in Kazakhstan is part of our EMEA expansion plan. This will also provide us greater flexibility and speed in deploying our solutions in this region.

Our Kazakhstan operation is our way of acknowledging our customer's contribution to our success in the region. We hope to build a local resource pool here in Almaty to service the rest of the Russian speaking marketplaces."