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UPDATE 1-India's Infosys, Bharti tie-up for DTH TV services

Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:51am EDT

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(Adds details, IBM deal, quotes)

BANGALORE, Oct 15 (Reuters) - India's top mobile operator Bharti Airtel Ltd (BRTI.BO) said on Wednesday it had tied up with Infosys Technologies Ltd (INFY.BO) for its newly launched direct-to-home (DTH) television service.

Infosys, India's No. 2 software services exporter, will provide technology products that will help Bharti to offer digital and interactive applications on its DTH TV service launched on Oct. 9.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Infosys, which develops applications, designs supply chains and offers back-office services, is sharpening its focus on emerging markets such as India as a slowdown in the U.S. and the financial crisis crimp outsourcing demand in mature markets.

"As an organisation, we are definitely putting a lot more focus on emerging markets, that includes India," its Chief Operating Officer S.D. Shibulal told reporters. "This is part of that strategy." He said Infosys was eyeing outsourcing deals in India from sectors like government departments, banking and other industrial segments.

"We are bullish on the emerging markets," Shibulal said.

Last week, Nasdaq-listed Infosys (INFY.O) cut its forecast for full-year dollar revenue growth due to the global turmoil, even as it beat expectations with a 30 percent rise in quarterly profit.

Separately, Bharti said in a statement it had signed a new six-year outsourcing contract with global technology major IBM (IBM.N) to boost the telecom firm's sales, customer service, and back-office operations, without divulging the financial details.

IBM had signed a 10-year, $750 million deal in 2004 with Bharti to manage its IT infrastructure. The deal's value is now estimated to have gone up significantly due to robust growth in Bharti's subscriber and revenue. Firms like IBM and Accenture (ACN.N) are increasingly competing for outsourcing deals in the Indian market, as government departments, banks, retail, and small- and mid-sized companies step up investments on technology in a booming economy.

At 0944 GMT, shares in Infosys were down 5.2 percent at 1,324 rupees and Bharti was trading down 7 percent at 711 rupees in the main Mumbai market .BSESN which was down 6.1 percent. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Charlotte Cooper)



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