Chennai, Mar 22 (UNI) China still has to build its know-how in Information Technology (IT) and it may be almost two decades for it to compete with its neighbour, India, Magic Software Executive Chairman David buttia said today.
Talking to UNI on the sidelines of "Indiasoft 2005", organised by the Electronics Computer Software Export Promotion Council here, he said while China could emerge as a leader in manufacturing, India was firmly established in the software and knowledge-industry.
India also had the advantage of proficiency in English language, a critical part of the IT industry. English was a part of the educational system in the country, he pointed out.
The Israeli company, which has its Indian research and development operations at Pune, had acquired 17 companies in 2000 at an estimated 50 million USD outflow.
Still scouting for mergers and acquisitions, Mr buttia said there were plans to acquire two companies which had complementary technical skills on one hand and market niche on the other. ''We plan to acquire one big and one small company,'' he added.
One of the key factors for setting up a base at Pune was the direct flight from Tel-Aviv to Mumbai, he said.
The Nasdaq-listed Magic Software, present in 50 countries, had clocked 65 million USD in 2004. It had acquired Next Step in 2000 and invested close to 500,000 USD.
