Kolkata: Leading corporates GE Capital and HSBC have expressed interest in starting business process outsourcing (BPO) operations in Kolkata and had written to the West Bengal Government seeking land for this purpose.

West Bengal Information Technology Minister Manabendra Mukherjee told reporters in Kolkata today (May 14, 2004) that separate teams from GE Capital and HSBC would come to the city next week to hold discussions with the State Government officials in this regard.

Mukherjee said that another ITeS company LSI Logic had also shown interest in starting operations here shortly.

The Minister said that both GE Capital and HSBC were likely to set up mega-projects here. Earlier, the State Government had been actively pursuing GE Capital to locate their fourth BPO centre here after Gurgaon, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, the State Government would start roadshows in Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in showcasing the advantages of West Bengal as a possible IT destination.

In the financial year 2003-04, software exports from West Bengal was Rs 1,680 crore, against Rs 1,200 crore in the previous year.

Mukherjee said that this figure would go up substantially in the next year after Wipro Spectramind starts operations in Salt Lake.