States of Jersey, a financial services hub of Europe to strengthen economic ties with India

InfrasoftTech takes the plunge, sets up office in Jersey

Mumbai: 13 February, 2008 – A high level trade delegation comprising of Minister of Economic Development, Senator Philip Ozouf, Chief Executive of Economic Development, Mike King, Director of International Trade, Wayne Gallichan, Martin de Forest Brown, the State’s International Finance Director and Geoff Cook, Chief Executive of Jersey Finance Limited met Indian businessmen at an Business Meet organized by FICCI jointly with InfrasoftTech in the city today, with the objective of promoting the State of Jersey, Channel Island, an island state located between UK and France traditionally known for its wealth management, private banking and trust businesses. The delegation also aimed at promoting Jersey’s new more business friendly tax regime with no capital gains or inheritance taxes.

Expressing his deep commitment to strengthen State of Jersey’s economic ties with India, Senator Philip Ozouf, Minister for Economic Development, States of Jersey, said, “It is essential that we in Jersey grow and diversify the economy both in terms of geographic reach and products. India is a very exciting marketing seeing significant growth. I have no doubts that IT will grow strongly in the years ahead. I have already been impressed with the opportunities for Jersey businesses in India and also Indian businesses such as Infrasoft Tech Limited in Jersey. I am impressed with the standard of services. I am determined to boost Indo-Jersey trade which can benefit both India and Jersey”.

Welcoming the trade delegation, Dilip Dandekar, Chairman, FICCI-MSC & CMD, Camlin Ltd., said, “We marvel at Jersey’s economic strength in terms of purchasing power parity and high economic output per capita with GNI per capita of $630000 – the second highest in the world. Being one of the smallest island states in the world, we are amazed at Jersey’s entrepreneurial excellence which has led to its becoming strong in areas like financial services, tourism, electronic commerce and agriculture. I am sure Indian businessmen would benefit immensely by setting up their service industry in States of Jersey as this would not only benefit its economy but also provide Indian businessmen to have access to European markets”.

Sharing his experience of working in States of Jersey, Hanuman Tripathi, Managing Director, Infrasoft Technologies said, “We have had a very positive experience establishing business in Jersey for many years now. The government officials in Jersey are not only courteous and devoid of red tape but also welcome positive business models that promote trade and help the society at large”.

Mr. M.P. Vaish, President & CEO, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services, and Executive Committee Member, FICCI-WRC said, “State of Jersey is an ideal investment destination for Indian businessmen as it provides a business friendly environment devoid of red tape, corruption, ambiguity of laws and unfair trade practices. The country offers an excellent digital and wireless network and a robust, sophisticated business support service infrastructure”.

Some of the Indian organizations that have seen success in Jersey include Bank of India, Minerva Financial Services, InfrasoftTech and Airtel, besides others. Recently, InfrasoftTech even acquired a local Jersey based software services firm M Consulting to create a base outside mainland London.

The Jersey Trade Delegation today visited the offices of InfrasoftTech and met the Jersey students who have come to India for IT Training in InfrasoftTech facility. The Minister and his team were highly appreciative of the baby steps InfrasoftTech has taken to give a new dimension to the career of Jersey students in IT education to service the local financial services industry. They said that these efforts of InfrasoftTech will go a long way in building goodwill between the countries and in recognizing Indian enterprises as favorable partners in growth in times to come.

About Jersey

Jersey, at 45 square miles (118 square km) in size, is the largest of the British Channel Islands. The Island is located 85 miles (135 km) south of mainland Britain and 14 miles (22 km) from the coast of France. The population of 87,700 (as at the end of 2004) includes some 12,000 professionally trained staff working within finance and support industries. Further information on the Jersey economy can be found on http://www.gov.je/ChiefMinister/Statistics/

The Island’s main language is English. However, due to Jersey’s cosmopolitan nature, most European languages are spoken and can be used for business transactions.

About FICCI

Set up in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi, FICCI is the largest and oldest apex business organization of Indian business. It is the rallying point for free enterprises in India. It has empowered Indian businesses, in the changing times, to shore up their competitiveness and enhance their reach. With a nationwide membership of over 1500 corporates and over 500 chambers of commerce and business associations, FICCI espouses the shared vision of Indian businesses and speaks directly and indirectly for over 2,50,000 business units. FICCI maintains its lead as the proactive business

solution provider through research, interactions at the highest political level and global networking.

About Infrasoft Technologies

InfrasoftTech is a specialist in delivering technology solutions to banking & financial institutions with a successful track record of over 12 years. InfrasoftTech has served 120+ banks & FIIs globally in diverse areas of Core Banking, Islamic Banking, Wealth Management and AML across India, South East Asia, Middle East, Africa, UK and USA. The company is a Baring Private Equity funded organization, planning a four fold growth in it’s size in three years.

(www.infrasofttech.com)