No impact of World Bank ban on business, says Megasoft

CHENNAI/HYDERABAD - Indian technology firm Megasoft Ltd Monday said there would be no financial impact on its operations from the World Bank decision to debar it from outsourcing services.

The list of Indian software companies debarred by the World Bank from transacting any business on the grounds of unfair practices now includes Wipro and Megasoft, besides the tainted Satyam Computer Services.

‘It came as a total surprise to us. We used to provide World Bank people to man their information technology (IT) systems, but we stopped doing business with them in 2007 itself,’ G.V.Kumar, managing director & CEO of Megasoft Limited, an associate of the banned entity, told IANS.

The World Bank banned the Hyderabad-based Megasoft Consultants for floating a joint venture with its former employee.

Referring to that, Kumar clarified that Megasoft China was floated after Ben Hu, a Chinese national, quit his job at the World Bank.

‘We had declared in public his profile when he was inducted into the board,’ he said.

According to Kumar, the World Bank had enquired about the joint venture in 2007, saying it was just a routine matter.

‘After banning us, the Bank said we can go in for an appeal which we were not in favour of as our business from the institution was going down.’

To the query as to why the company had not notified the bourses about the ban, Kumar said the World Bank was not a major client for them and the company’s business with it was going down.

‘So, we thought why to rake up a dying issue,’ he said, adding on hindsight they felt that it would have been better for the company to have notified the bourses.

‘Now we are talking to our employees and clients and assuring them about the company’s plans and capabilities,’ Kumar added.

Megasoft provides revenue-generating solutions to mobile operators and mobile virtual network operators to about 100 customers worldwide, including Sprint, Telefonica and Telecom New Zealand. The 14-year-old listed firm has operations in Britain, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore and the US, besides Chennai in India.

Kumar said the company derives 60 percent of its revenue from telecom products.

‘We focus on the mobile telecom market for our products/solutions and on offshore application development & maintenance services. We have also been reducing our onsite staffing business,’ he said.

With about 500 employees, the company provides specialist outsourcing services and offers product life cycle management and advance document management system services to product firms under its ‘BlueAlly’ brand name.