Although Saudi companies have expressed their concern over the Satyam Computers fiasco, they have not lost confidence in Indian IT companies, said industry sources here. Saudi companies dealing with Indian IT companies basically want to protect their business interests, particularly after news of the Satyam fraud was extensively reported in the media. Satyam is a global IT company providing consulting services, enterprise business solutions, application development services and engineering solutions to its foreign partners. However, the Saudi market has not lost confidence in doing business with Indian companies, said Ali Hasan, vice president, Focus, an Indian Software Solutions Co. Ltd., which has dealings with over 1,500 Saudi clients. The recent announcement of business continuity by Satyam's top leadership has helped a lot in reassuring the Saudi market, he said. “Satyam is one of the major players in the outsourcing business, and the recent debacle has not had much impact in Saudi Arabia,” Hasan said. “This is largely because Satyam has a huge workforce of 53,000 employees, who are willing to continue the projects the company has undertaken,” he said. Hasan said there have been discussions going on but that Saudis are mostly concerned about protecting their business interests and the continuity of the operations. Other major Indian players operating in the Kingdom, including Wipro and Tata, have multimillion riyal projects with Saudi companies, said an industry source requesting anonymity. He said in Saudi Arabia, Indian IT companies have a good reputation, which will not be spoiled just because of the Satyam Computers scam. “There has been more and more business in Saudi Arabia for Indian IT companies. The graph is going up, which is evident from my company that deals as a consultant in IT-related software solutions such as ERP and CRM and HMS and achieved 30 percent growth during 2008,” he said. He said there is an immediate need for the new CEO of Satyam and the state government of Andhra Pradesh to take measures to restore the confidence of the IT market, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The worst that could happen to Satyam is that other Indian IT giants operating in the Kingdom might try to grab the company's business projects, that are worth millions of riyals, he said. Indian companies operating as joint ventures or 100- percent foreign-owned companies in various sectors account for an investment of over $1 billion in the Kingdom. The main sectors in which the Indian companies are operating include management and consultancy services, construction projects, power, telecommunications, IT, pharmaceuticals and furniture manufacturing. In addition, several Indian companies are working in the Kingdom in the areas of construction, IT software development, designing, consultancy and financial services. Considering this huge presence, the Satyam Computers debacle will not make Saudi CEOs change their mood overnight, he said. “Indian IT companies have not lost the confidence of their Saudi counterparts following news of the recent Satyam fraud,” he said.
