India IT firms upbeat on growth despite softer U.S.

By Sumeet Chatterjee

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Indian outsourcing companies are optimistic about their growth despite a downturn in the U.S. economy, on hopes of strong technology spending by global firms, and as they focus on expanding their businesses in newer markets.

Investors have been worried about the impact of a deepening U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, raising the chances of a wider economic downturn in a country that accounts for more than half the revenue of Indian software services exporters.

Cisco (CSCO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's biggest maker of telecoms network gear, set tech sector investors on edge last month by saying the company had been hit by "dramatic decreases" in orders from U.S. banks. Until then, the sector had been seen as a safe haven.

"To my mind, Indian value proposition is so strong that whenever the IT budgets come down ... they tend to source from India because they want higher bang for the buck," said Suresh Senapaty, chief financial officer of Wipro Ltd WIPR.O.

"From that perspective, we would not expect any adverse business situation ... we have seen that in the past and I am sure the future will prove that again," he told the Reuters India Investment Summit in Bangalore on Friday.

Shares in Indian software services companies have sharply underperformed the broader market this year on worries about the rising rupee, which has risen about 12 percent against the U.S. dollar this year, and a possible slowdown in the U.S. economy.

In 2007, shares in India's No. 2 software services exporter Infosys Ltd (INFY.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) have fallen 23 percent and top exporter Tata Consultancy is down nearly 13 percent, while the sector index has fallen 16 percent.

India's main Mumbai index .BSESN is up 45 percent.  Continued...