HCL Technologies Ltd has entered China and is close to forging 'partnerships' with three Chinese firms so as to effectively penetrate the booming domestic market which has so far been a hard nut to crack for Indian software and servicing companies.
"We have set up operations in China by setting up a satellite office in Shanghai," President of HCL Technologies Ltd, Vineet Nayar, told PTI on the sidelines of the inaugural annual meeting of the new champions organised by the World Economic Forum at Dalian in China.
Though a late entrant to the Chinese market in comparison with other Indian software and service providers, HCL will chart a different business model of partnership in China since the company feels that it does not know the complex Chinese market
well.
"Our approach to the Chinese market is very clear: I don't know. The Chinese knows best. So work with the Chinese," Nayar said.
"It is not possible to work in China without partnership. If you start competing with the Chinese companies, you will not succeed. Our approach in China will be collaboration and partnership," he said.
Nayar said most of the Indian software and services companies' officials he met expressed frustration as these firms have become 'training centres' in China with heavy employee attrition rates.
HCL has been talking to 10 Chinese companies and is in the process of zeroing-in on three partners, Nayar said.
"I think we have made up our mind who they are," he said without disclosing their names or locations.