The IT sector in Andhra Pradesh is gathering momentum and Visakhapatnam in particular is bound to emerge as a major fintech hub in the country, according to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

He was speaking here on Thursday after inaugurating the office of Franklin Templeton Investments here on Thursday.

He said it was a good sign for the city that a major company, a Fortune 500 company, like Franklin Investments had chosen to set up a centre in the city. “The company will invest Rs 450 crores here gradually on setting up the centre and provide 2,500 high-end jobs. Today it has opened the office,” he said. He recalled how the company had first set up the centre in Hyderabad in the united AP way back in 2002 and he expressed confidence that the Vizag centre would be even more successful than the one in Hyderabad.

Jennifer M Johnson, the president and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company, said the company had immense faith in the Chief Minister “who is the key architect and visionary CM” who built up the IT sector in Hyderabad and is doing so now in Visakhapatnam. She expressed confidence that the Vizag centre would flourish. She also thanked Rajkumar Velagapudi, the president and CEO of Innova Solutions Inc., responsible for bringing Franklin Investments to Vizag.

State IT Minister N. Lokesh said it was a historic moment.

Conduent centre

Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the centre of Conduent Inc. in the IT park at Rushikonda. The company will generate 5,000 jobs in the next two years and it will invest roughly Rs 650 crores.

The CM said he was trying to create the right eco system for IT companies to flourish in the city.

However, he lamented, some political parties were creating hurdles in the onward march of the State on the path of progress. He said unfortunately a hue and cry was being raised over the allotment of land on the beach road to Lu Lu group to build a world class convention centre and shopping mall. “Vizag needs such a convention centre. After all, it can only be built on land and not in the air,” he said, taking a dig at the political parties and others opposing the decision.

Earlier, the Chief Minister also participated in the second convocation ceremony of the IIM-Vizag where he exhorted the MBA graduates to become entrepreneurs instead of mere job-seekers.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home / by Ch. R.S. Sarma / Visakhapatnam – March 29th, 2018