Local companies have interests in a peaceful India

Among Tampa Bay companies, CGI Group of Clearwater, formerly IMRGlobal, has two offices in India but employs only Indian nationals.

Joseph Saliba, president of U.S. operations for Canadian-owned CGI, said the company's office in Bangalore, which employs about 300 people, is in south India, far from the threat of direct conflict. The company also has an office in Bombay with about 150 employees. Both locations specialize in software programming.

Saliba said CGI can move work from one office to the other in the event of a problem, or to Canada. "We've been reminding our clients that we've created a backup and recovery procedure so if anything happens, they're covered," Saliba said.

Raymond James Financial Inc. of St. Petersburg has a joint venture in Bombay with an Indian firm, ASK Investment and Financial Consultants Ltd. The workers in the Bombay office are Indian nationals.

Executives at Sykes Enterprises Inc., a Tampa company that provides outsourced customer support through a network of call centers, have been pondering a move into India for several months. A number of its U.S. competitors already have established operations in the country, where educated, English-speaking workers can be hired inexpensively.

But chief financial officer Mike Kipphut said the recent turmoil in India gives him pause. "I think people are guarded at this point in time as far as any future commitments to India," he said.

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