Wipro to focus on emerging markets, on high growth segments: Azim Premji

BANGALORE: Wipro hopes to bounce back from its disappointing performance in the third quarter through a "relook at emerging markets" and by focusing on "high growth segments" like eco-energy, Chairman Azim Premji said on Friday.

"We will relook at opportunities in emerging markets," Premji said here.

He said the company considers India an emerging market. "We have a very strong footprint here. It is neck-and-neck between us and IBM on the services sides and we are profitable here, we are growing here and we are continuing to invest here."

Premji also indicated that the company considers the Middle East an emerging market for IT services.

China is also an emerging market and the company is being systematically selective on prospective clients. The company has also appointed a country head for China. "We now want to systematically address, very selectively, local customers, both multinational local customers and domestic-domestic local customers in China," the Wipro Chairman said.

Latin America is also on the company's radar, as are Germany and France, which it considers high potential areas that are under-penetrated.

Some pockets in the Far East are also considered emerging markets for certain segments of its business, he said, citing the case of Korea, where there is a demand for hi-tech services as the country faces a huge talent shortage, particularly with respect to embedded systems.

"We are working on two kind of markets, high velocity emerging markets and markets which have a high base like Western Europe and the US," said Wipro CFO Suresh Senapaty.

The company said it will look at areas like eco-energy, technology infrastructure, info-crossing and testing, besides other verticals, to drive growth.