Nasdaq MarketSite hosts Indian IT firms

New York: The Nasdaq Stock Market will host a group of India’s premiere information technology and software companies at the Nasdaq MarketSite for a series of events including a market closing ceremony on 4 April 2002.

The delegation’s visit has been organised in conjunction with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the leading technology trade association in India. There are currently three India-based companies listed on Nasdaq: Infosys (Infy), Satyam Infoway (Sify) and Rediff.com (Reds).

Says Nasdaq vice-chairman Alfred Berkeley: “We have strong ties with Nasscom, an organisation which has strongly supported our initiatives in India for assisting companies to raise capital in the US. India is a new global hub for technology dedicated to capital formation and we are delighted to welcome the Nasscom delegation.”

The Nasscom delegation will visit Nasdaq’s MarketSite in Times Square, where presentations from many of the companies will be videoed throughout the day for webcasting on www.nasdaq.com. Presentations can be viewed on the site over the next 30 days.

The delegation will also attend the market close ceremony and meet the press at a roundtable hosted by Berkeley. Additionally, Nasdaq will host a cocktail reception in honour of Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Parliamentary Affairs Pramod Mahajan and Nasscom.

Says Nasscom president Kiran Karnik: “As part of our ongoing programme to help build the Indian IT brand overseas, Nasscom is organising a series of international events. With Nasdaq’s reputation as the home for innovative companies that are leaders in their industries, we are especially proud to be working with Nasdaq to increase awareness of the member companies in our organisation.”

In the last five years (1995-2000) the Indian IT Industry recorded a compounded annual growth rate of more than 42.4 per cent, which is almost double the growth rate of IT industries in many developed countries

In 1999-2000, the Indian IT industry was estimated to have earned revenues of $8.67 billion - a growth of almost 50 per cent as compared to $6.05 billion in 1998-99. More than 185 of the Fortune 500 companies outsourced their software requirements to Indian software houses.