IT services business to slow: Infosys

Infosys Technologies,India’s No. 2 outsourcer,expects IT services business to be slow in the foreseeable future as clients delay technology spending amid the global economic crisis,its chief executive said. Nasdaq-listed Infosys would also hand out minimum wage rises in April to its staff,Kris Gopalakrishnan said on the sidelines of an industry conference on Friday.

“This is going to be a prolonged downturn,” he said referring to the global economic slowdown.

India’s large pool of English-speaking engineers and cheaper wages have helped attract outsourcing from Western firms such as Citigroup,General Electric,Qantas and Airbus.

But a recession in the United States,which accounts for more than half the sector’s revenue,and turmoil in the global financial sector have halted the sector’s scorching pace of growth and battered stocks.