MphasiS, an Indian outsourcing company in which Electronic Data Systems (EDS) owns a majority stake, is setting up a new software services and development facility in Hyderabad in south India. The facility will initially employ 100 staff but grow to 1,000 within a year, the company said.

The facility in Hyderabad, which will focus on applications development and management services, will help MphasiS' meet its target of increasing staff in India by between 7,000 to 9,000 during its fiscal year ending March 31, a spokeswoman for MphasiS said on Thursday. The company currently has about 28,000 staff.

After it acquired a majority stake in MphasiS, EDS merged last year its own Indian services delivery operations into MphasiS. MphasiS is still listed on the stock exchange but that may not last as a result of Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of EDS last month, according to analysts. HP does not operate other than through wholly-owned subsidiaries, they said.

In India, for example, HP bought out the publicly listed shares in Digital GlobalSoft, a software and services subsidiary in Bangalore, and de-listed the company. Digital GlobalSoft became part of HP after its 2002 acquisition of Compaq.

Besides Digital GlobalSoft, and now MphasiS, HP also has its own services operations in India. HP India and MphasiS declined to comment on any de-listing plans ahead for MphasiS.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.