Partners With a Subsidiary of Bharti,
a Leading Telecommunications Provider in India
DENVER, April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
TeleTech Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTEC), a leading global provider of customer
management solutions, today announced a joint venture agreement with Bharti
Teletech Limited (Bharti), a subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises Limited (Bharti
Enterprises), to provide in-country and offshore customer management solutions
to multinational companies. Bharti Enterprises, founded in 1975, is the
largest, non-government held provider of telecommunications services in India.
Under terms of the agreement, TeleTech and Bharti will participate in the
joint venture known as TeleTech Services India Private Limited (TeleTech
India). The assets of Bharti's existing customer management solutions
subsidiary will be transferred to TeleTech India. The venture is expected to
receive required Indian regulatory approval and begin operations in the second
quarter 2003.
Sanjay Kapoor, Group Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning within
the Bharti group of companies, has been named President and Chief Executive
Officer of TeleTech India. Mr. Kapoor joined Bharti in 1998 as Chief
Operating Officer of the company's cellular division, and became its Chief
Executive Officer in 2000, becoming the youngest chief executive of a
telecommunications company in India. Prior to joining Bharti, Mr. Kapoor
spent 14 years with Xerox in India in sales, marketing and general management.
Mr. Kapoor, age 40, holds a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from Delhi
University, and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Cranfield
School of Management, England with majors in Finance and Strategy.
Bharti Enterprises employs over 5,000 employees and has the largest
wireless network in India offering cellular services in sixteen states across
India, fixed-line operations in six states and has recently begun providing
international long distance services. Since inception, Bharti Enterprises has
secured over $1 billion in foreign equity, with such prestigious investors as
Warburg Pincus and Singapore Telecom. Additionally, Sunil Bharti Mittal,
Bharti Enterprises' Group Chairman and Managing Director, was named Business
India's 2002 Businessman of the Year.
"TeleTech is a global leader in customer management solutions, with a
history of developing strategic, long-term operations within a select
geographic footprint," said Mr. Bharti Mittal. "Companies are increasingly
focused on strengthening customer relationships, and we are well positioned to
offer a unique, global solution that leverages India's motivated and highly
educated workforce. Additionally, our extensive communications network will
allow the joint venture to leverage a reliable, redundant telecommunications
infrastructure. We have a history of creating strong, long-term partnerships,
and we look forward to future success with TeleTech."
"We are excited to partner with Bharti, an experienced and reputable
company, and further expand our offshore capabilities to address the increased
interest we are seeing in high quality, India-based customer management
solutions," said Kenneth Tuchman, TeleTech's Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "The partnership completes our proven global offering of lower cost,
English language customer management solutions from a 'blended,' multi-country
footprint in Argentina, Canada, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Northern Ireland,
and the Philippines. Our partnership is unique, as we combine TeleTech's
legacy of providing large, complex customer management with Bharti's history
of leadership in the Indian telecommunications market. Together we offer an
unmatched capability."
TELETECH PROFILE
For twenty years, TeleTech has managed the customer experience for some of
the world's largest enterprises. TeleTech's innovative customer care services
help companies acquire, serve, grow and retain customers throughout the entire
relationship lifecycle. TeleTech offers solutions to a variety of industries
including financial services, transportation, communications, government,
healthcare and travel. With a presence that spans North America,
Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America, TeleTech provides comprehensive
customer care solutions to global organizations. Additional information on
TeleTech can be found at www.teletech.com .
BHARTI ENTERPRISES PROFILE
Established in 1975, Bharti has been a pioneering force in the telecom
sector and has many firsts to its credit. Notable among them being the first
company to launch cellular services in Delhi, the first private basic
telephone service provider in the country, the first Indian company to provide
comprehensive telecom services outside India in Seychelles, the leading
telephone instrument manufacturing company in India, and the first private
sector service provider to launch national long distance telephony. Today,
Bharti is India's leading private sector provider of telecommunications with
over 3 million cellular and nearly 375,000 fixed line customers. As of March
31, 2003 its share of the cellular market was approximately 24 precent.
Bharti also provides reliable end-to-end data and enterprise services to its
customers by leveraging its nationwide optic fiber backbone, last mile
connectivity in fixed line and cellular circles, satellite, ISP and
international bandwidth access through its gateways and landing station.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
All statements not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements
that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In accordance with the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, following are important
factors that could cause TeleTech's actual results to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including:
TeleTech's ability to predict future revenue and associated costs; lower than
anticipated customer interaction center capacity utilization; the loss or
delay in implementation of a customer management program; TeleTech's ability
to build-out facilities in a timely and economic manner; greater than
anticipated competition from new entrants into the customer care market,
causing increased price competition or loss of clients; the loss of one or
more significant clients; higher than anticipated start-up costs associated
with new business opportunities and ventures; TeleTech's ability to predict
the potential volume or profitability of any future technology or consulting
sales; TeleTech's agreements with clients may be canceled on relatively short
notice; and TeleTech's ability to generate a specific level of revenue is
dependent upon customer interest in and use of the products and services of
TeleTech's clients. Readers are encouraged to review TeleTech's 2002 Form
10-K, and other publicly filed documents, which describe in greater detail
these and other important factors that may impact TeleTech's business, results
of operations, financial condition and cash flows. TeleTech undertakes no
obligation to update its forward-looking statements after the date of this
release.
SOURCE TeleTech Holdings, Inc.
