Ontrack Systems Ltd, an IT outsourcing company, recently revealed plans to set up a facility in Chennai.

With primary business operations out of Corporate Centre in Kolkata, the Company is eyeing Chennai, as an alternative primary business centre for specific areas such as disaster recovery, support services, application maintenance and also for BPO. The new centre is likely to have a seating capacity of over 200 people

Dwelling on Ontrack’s growth policy of "buy-and-build", CEO and Managing Director, B Hari revealed that the Company was in advance stages of acquiring two overseas companies -- one each in the US and the UK at a cost of $ 7 to 10 mn.

Ontrack is targeting revenues of $ 8.5 mn this year through organic route and about $ 15 mn by inorganic way. Its present revenue is about $ 7 mn. It presently employs 160 people in India, 40 in UK, 10 in Holland and 10 in the Middle East, with definite plans to ramp its manpower in Kolkata and UK during this year.

Ontrack's primary market is Europe, which accounts for 70 % of its revenues. The acquisition in the US is expected to help the company put its footprint in the US and also in Australia through US company's existing business networks down under.

The Indian embassy recently disclosed India's National Aluminium Co Ltd’s (NALCO) plans to set up a $2.5 bn aluminium smelter in the United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi, though the exact location has not yet been revealed.

The project is valued in excess of $2.5 bn and a feasibility study is in progress. The government has been looking at several locations in the Middle East and have finally zeroed in on Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Amtex Systems Inc, an IT consulting company based in the US, recently plans to set up a development centre in Chennai. The new centre will be its largest offshore delivery facility, employing over 1,000 people in the next two years.

Amtex currently provides IT services to JP Morgan, Pfizer, Intel, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Merrill Lynchand employs over 600 IT professionals across its 12 offices in six countries.

South African supermarket group Shoprite Holdings is set to open three more stores in India after the remarkable success of its first franchised store in Mumbai.

The franchise superstore the group opened in Mumbai during the year has achieved 40 % market penetration in its catchment area and has managed to increase its basket size by 23 % since opening. Consequently there has been a 12 per cent improvement in results for the group.

The three new stores in India would be part of new shopping centres being developed in India.

Industry analysts agree with Shoprite’s projections for future growth in the Indian market. Given that only about two percent of the country's billion consumers used the formal retail sector, which is expected to rise to six percent in the next two years.

Ascendas recently confirmed plans of a high technology business park in Kolkata.

Marking the Singapore based company's first foray into India, the first phase of the futuristic International Tech Park is expected to be completed in 2007. It will be located in the new 4,000-hectare township of Rajarhat and will provide two million square feet of office space for information technology and software development operations.