Mumbai firm to train Chinese staff on BPO ops

MUMBAI: First, it was the software companies; now, it is the turn of BPOs to set up shop in China. Effort BPO, based in Mumbai, has been roped in by Asia Star, a private Chinese telecom services company, and Triple Three, the investment arm of Hong Kong-based export company Mulitex, to set up domestic BPO operations in Shanghai.

Effort will partner with Asia Star and Triple Three to set up a 1,000-seater BPO operation catering to domestic companies in China. The yet-to-be named new venture would see an initial investment of $ 1 million, with another $ 6 million to be invested in the company over the next two years, according Gene Chu, CEO, Asia Star. Effort will hold 51% equity in the venture while Asia Star and Triple Three will hold 24% and 25% respectively.

“China lacks trained manpower for telemarketing. Call centres and BPOs are really the missing link in the value chain for the growing service industry in the country; hence, with this new entity, we would look to have a first-mover advantage in the space in China,” Mr Chu added.

Effort will train the Chinese speaking staff in the newly-formed BPO on running operations. “Effort would bring in the technology and domain expertise in running a BPO, while Asia Star would leverage its expertise in the telecom space, infrastructure and local knowledge,” Effort’s director-sales and marketing Rajnish Sarna told ET. HSBC, Reliance Telecom and Tata Indicom are its clients.

Effort is also aiming to scale up headcount in the new operations to nearly 5,000 in the next three years, he said. In India, the firm has operations in Mumbai, Indore, Delhi and Pune with about 2,000 employees.

Mr Sarna added that the new venture would also take over Asia Star’s existing 100-seater call centre in Shanghai. He added that the synergies with Asia Star were obvious since it is one of the only four companies in China to have a government licence to run a BPO/call centre.