TCS to merge operations in China

Our Corporate Bureau
08 November 2006

Tata Consultancy Services plans to merge its China operations into a new joint venture company it has formed with three Chinese partners and Microsoft.

TCS entered the China market in 2002 through a wholly owned subsidiary has 25 active customers in the country.

Recently, China bagged the mandate to partner with the Chinese government agencies to set up an IT company that is meant to be a role model for the growing Chinese software industry.

TCS will hold a 65 per cent stake in the joint venture — TCS (China) Co — while three Chinese companies — Zhongguancun Software Park Development Company, Uniware Company and the Tianjin Huayuan Software Area Construction and Development Company — will hold 25 per cent and Microsoft the balance 10 per cent.

Tata Consultancy Services Asia Pacific Pte, a TCS subsidiary, signed a shareholder agreement in July 2006 for establishing the joint venture and obtained the license last month.

The joint venture plans to get some share of the business of the Chinese domestic market, which, is estimated to five times the size of the Indian market and growing.