HCL Tech opens centre in Brazil

HCL Technologies on Friday said it has opened a global IT development centre in Sao Leopoldo, Brazil, to cater to clients across Latin America, North America and Europe.

The centre, which compliments HCL's operations in Sao Paulo, is expected to hire over 300 engineers by 2012, HCL Technologies said in a statement.

The centre will offer a range of services, including enterprise application services, custom applications development and maintenance, and remote infrastructure management to clients primarily in Latin America, North America and Europe, the statement said.

Brazil accounts for more than 40 per cent of the overall IT spending in Latin America. According to global market research and analytics company IDC, spending in IT services activities in Latin America will be more than $20 billion in 2009 and will grow to more than $25 billion in 2012.

"Brazil offers the perfect balance of cost savings and talent base that allows HCL to serve clients not only in this fast-growing region, but also in the US and Europe," HCL America President Shami Khorana said.

HCL's operation in Brazil is the first in a series of locations the company will establish in Latin America, he added.