Nortel bankruptcy pulls down Indian IT stocks
By IANSWednesday, January 14, 2009
MUMBAI - Indian IT firms received another jolt Thursday when Canada-based Nortel Networks, one of North America’s largest telecom equipment firm and an important client for outsourcing firms here, filed for bankruptcy.
Among the biggies of Indian outsourcing firms that are expected to bear the heat of the development are Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, Infosys and Sasken Communication Technologies, industry sources said.
These companies, however, declined comment on the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Nortel, citing client confidentiality agreements.
Sasken, particularly, is expected to be the worst hit as Nortel holds a 9.33 percent stake in the company, apart from being a top client. The filing led to the Sasken scrip losing over 16 percent at the Bombay Stock Exchange within hours of trading Thursday.
‘India will have to face adverse effects of globalisation now that we have enjoyed the fruits,’ said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of the capital markets arm and director of a major share brokerage firm, the New Delhi-based SMC Group.
The losses of other companies that count Nortel as a client were not as much, signifying that the revenue stream may not be hugely affected, analysts said.
The TCS stock was trading 4.67 percent lower over its previous close. Wipro and Infosys were also down by 4.49 percent and 4.7 percent respectively. Overall, the IT index of the Bombay Stock Exchange was down 5.33 percent about half-hour before close.
‘This shows that Indian companies are as integrated to the world economy as their global counterparts and again has blown holes into the de-coupling theory propagated by a lot of people,’ Thunuguntla told IANS.
Nortel remains a big name in Corporate Canada, with 32,000 employees and major operations in Ottawa, considered the country’s high-tech hub. The employee headcount fell from an high of 90,000 employees in 2000.
A Nortel India spokesperson declined comment on the issue.
Nortel’s business has been experiencing a slowdown in many of its major markets, especially in the US, resulting in the company to send out a warning that its revenues were under pressure.
The company had recently acquired Tasman Networks in India to strengthen its research and development efforts in the country. The laboratory was since renamed Tasman Networks Nortel Technology Excellence Centre.
Some of Nortel’s clients in the country include Reliance Infocomm, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Bharti Airtel and GAIL (India).
