Satyam Infoway Limited, India's largest Internet Service Provider (ISP), will soon send a technical squad to Dubai to evaluate business prospects in the UAE and other Arab Gulf countries.
R. Ramaraj, Satyam’s CEO and marketing director, recently concluded a tour of the Gulf region, with Dubai as his final stop. According to the Khaleej Times, Ramaraj said he believes that there are various Internet-related activities where his company could find a ready market, but added that Satyam would continue to focus on business development in India.
At present, said Ramaraj, business opportunities in India and the Gulf are quite similar. They include the provision of end-to-end solutions to businesses entering the new economy, including e-commerce and web-related services such as design and hosting.
Satyam Infoway first entered the ISP business in 1998 and has experienced rapid growth since then. It now controls 35 percent of the total Internet growth in India's Internet user market, offering Internet access services in 44 locations and covering more than 220 cities. The Company's Internet access business had more than 200,000 subscribers as of June 30, 2000, compared to merely 61,860 subscribers 12 months earlier. Its corporate services business base includes 550 customers.
Satyam reported revenues of $7.2 million for the second quarter of 2000, versus $1.8 million in the corresponding period of 1999. Recent estimates project sales of between $50-60 million for the current fiscal year, compared to $15.3 million last year.
Satyam was the first company in India to establish a private TCP/IP public data network between all major cities in the country. This past June, Satyam Infoway, together with Sterling Commerce Inc., launched an Internet-based procurement service to customers through Sterling Commerce's integrated online information center. — (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
