Belgian telco Proximus to have GCC in Bengaluru

Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) Belgian telco Proximus is set to open a global capability centre in Bengaluru soon, a top official said on Wednesday.
     The state-run company's chairman Stefaan De Clerck said it had a long experience of working with Indian entities or Indians for over two decades, and it is the trust in talent, and its quality, which makes India the ideal place to have such a facility.
     "We trust Indian talent, we saw the Indian talent. So, it is the beginning of the consideration (of having a GCC) saying ok, that is the country we have to go to," Clerck told reporters here.
     Speaking at the headquarters of Route Mobile, which is majority owned by Proximus, Clerck said the group which employs over 13,000 people at present has decided to have the facility at Bengaluru.
     He said the company has had a long-standing relationship with Bengaluru-based Infosys and the Indian IT services major is also helping it in the process of setting up the GCC.
     Moreover, Bengaluru is also the hub for a slew of GCCs in the country which makes it an ideal place to be in, Clerck said.
     Without giving the exact team size it is looking at for the Indian GCC, Clerck hinted that it may look at some staff reductions in the US, where it had acquired a company called Telesign in 2017.
     The exact staffage at the centre will be arrived at in a "prudent" manner, he said, explaining that such details are very "delicate" and will be arrived at only after a "social dialogue" to maintain "social peace".
     It can be noted that typically, companies have been looking at GCCs in India, given the cost advantages presented by the skilled manpower locally.
     Lately, a large number of such companies have been speaking about innovative work beyond the cost arbitrage story.
     As per IT industry body Nasscom, there are 1,760 GCCs in the country employing over 19 lakh people.
     Pointing to the possibility of jobs being trimmed in some geography and shifted to India, Clerck said that such aspects are "delicate" matters and the company will be taking a "prudent" call on the exact details.
     It has hired a chief executive to helm the GCC, he said, adding that the CEO will now be looking to have a team which would be a mix of young and experienced people having some experience in the telecom sector.
     Meanwhile, Route Mobile's chief executive Gautam Badalia said it is looking for a few tuck-in acquisitions to improve its capabilities and also outlined the financial goals it is trying to achieve.
     The listed company aims to close FY25 with a pre-tax profit margin of over 12 per cent, and aims to double the revenues to over USD 1 billion in the next three to four years, Badalia said.
     An economic delegation led by Princess Astrid of Belgium was present at the event, which also saw five startups making funding pitches.
     The delegation also visited Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) office later, and also had other engagements in India's financial capital.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)