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SAP to invest 24 million dollars, recruit 1,500 employees in India
BANGALORE, India (AFP) Aug 03, 2004
German business softwaremaker SAP said Tuesday it will invest an additional 20 million euros (24 million dollars) in its Indian facility and double its employee count to 3,000 in two years.

Henning Kagermann, chief executive officer of SAP AG, said the company had already committed 20 million euros for building the first two phases of its development centre, SAP Labs India.

"India is a cornerstone for SAP's global strategy. It is one of the fastest growing markets in Asia and a global hub for our business," said Kagermann.

"India is the second largest development hub after Germany.

"SAP's performance in India has been the most successful and it is clearly among the top three emerging markets globally for SAP," he told reporters. "The new investment is for completion of the third phase."

The company, which last year reported revenues of seven billion euros, employs 1,100 people in India and plans to increase the strength to 1,500 by year's end.

SAP Lab's focus will be on global research and development of products and services for its global and Indian customers. The firm has 650 Indian customers including oil and gas and automobile companies.

Kagermann said SAP Labs India was also in talks with domestic firms to partner the Walldorf-headquartered firm.

The parent company's facility in Walldorf employs 5,000 software professionals.

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