Scotland chooses Hyderabad as its base for South India operations

Commenting on the development, Ms. Anne MacColl, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Development International said, “Scotland is an attractive location to set up business in Europe and offers global excellence in R&D and cutting edge technological developments. We strongly believe that our strengths in knowledge, people, innovation, infrastructure and collaboration form the essence of why Indian businesses are keen to trade and invest in Scotland.

“The opening of our new office in India and entry into South India reinforces our commitment to the market. We have been witnessing a tremendous increase in business and collaboration opportunities across knowledge-based sectors in South India, which include life sciences, education and gaming companies in the ICT sector

Mr. Mark Dolan, Country Manager, Scottish Development International said,

“There has been a healthy increase in both trade and investment between India and Scotland in the last decade. In fact there has been a marked 30% increase in the number of Scottish companies looking to invest in and do business with India in 2011-12 over the previous year with an anticipated further rise of 25% by end of current year 2012-13. Interestingly, the percentage increase in the number of Scottish companies targeting India to expand their businesses and grow is higher than any other Asian country.”

Scotland has been attracting investment from leading global companies looking for a premium yet cost-effective destination for business investment. Scotland is already home to some of the leading South Indian corporates spread across varied industry verticals such as life sciences and ICT. Companies such as Axsys Technologies Ltd, Wipro Technologies and Tata Consultancy Services have benefitted from Scotland’s receptive business environment and strong focus on innovation.

Similarly, prominent Scottish enterprises, such as Carbon Masters, have set up base in South India as a result of encouraging trade opportunities in the region. India is an important trade and investment partner for Scotland with 15 Indian companies investing up to £700 million in the past five years and adding around 5000 jobs to the Scottish economy.

SDI set up its base in India in 2001 and has been actively scoping business opportunities with India since 2008. In addition to its new Hyderabad office, SDI already has offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.