Daily BPO news alert 17/05/2006

[BPO Business Intelligence]

Business Intelligence - Daily BPO news alert 17/05/2006

GENERAL
Wipro Acquires Quantech Global
Indian IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) specialist has agreed U.S.-based Quantech Global, an engineering services firm, for an undisclosed sum (sources in the Indian media put it at $10 million). Quantech Global had previously made investments in India, having spent $2 million on a design center in 2004. Currently, Quantech Global has service delivery centers in Hyderabad and Bangalore, and is headquartered in Michigan.  Source: Line56.com 16/05/06

PUBLIC SECTOR
NHS Direct to cut staff
NHS Direct has confirmed that it is to become the latest health authority to make staff redundant. The nurse-led telephone and internet advice service, a flagship of government health policy, is hoping to make efficiency savings by running fewer small call centres. The move, which will see 573 redundancies and 216 posts go through "natural turnover", is the latest in a round of cuts which has now seen around 15,000 jobs scrapped as NHS trusts bid to bring down financial deficits. However the service said that the expansion of some of its larger call centres would also help create 376 new posts, meaning a net total of job losses of closer to 400.  Source: epolitix.com 16/05/2006

FINANCIAL SERVICES
ABI calls on UK government pension reform to be fair to self-employed
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has set a challenge to the UK government in the run-up to its much anticipated pension reform proposal publication not to forget the self-employed. The call comes as the insurance industry's representative body published its own research that states self-employed people get a raw deal from the current UK pensions system. Helen McCarthy, the ABI's head of pensions, said: "Self-employed people make up one-eighth of the workforce, but a quarter of all UK non-savers. The pension system must be made fairer for self-employed people, and the white paper on pension reform should deliver this." The ABI believes the government should: make self-employed people eligible for the State Second Pension by increasing their NI contributions, and automatically enroll self-employed people into a new, low cost savings scheme. Source: Datamonitor 16/05/06

Actuarial firms Wolanski & Co and CheckleyFisher to merge
Actuarial and pension firms Wolanski & Co and CheckleyFisher are to merge to become Wolanski CheckleyFisher. Both firms specialise in corporate pensions and the merged firm will create a new player in the actuarial market with seven fully-qualified and experienced owner-manager actuaries. In addition to providing independent actuarial and consultancy services to employers and trustees of pension schemes, the new firm will assist other advisers involved in the financial management of pension schemes, including lawyers, investment bankers and corporate financiers. Source: Money Marketing 16/05/2006

PRIVATE SECTOR
BT wins 270 mln stg extension to Unilever deal
BT Group Plc has secured a three-year extension worth 270 million pounds ($508 million) on a key contract from Unilever to offer voice, data and mobile services, the British telecoms company said on Tuesday. The original deal with the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever was worth 670 million pounds over a seven-year period, making it BT's largest deal ever when struck in 2002. The former monopoly said its Global Services division would now continue to offer services to Unilever until 2012 across more than 100 countries. BT is increasingly reliant on its Global Services unit to drive revenue growth as its traditional fixed-line business declines at home. The unit accounted for around 44 percent of group revenues during the first nine months of its fiscal year to end-December. Source: Reuters 16/05/2006

UTILITIES
EDF Energy reaches financial landmark on UK windfarm project
EDF Energy and EDF Energies Nouvelles have achieved financial completion for their joint Red Tile windfarm project in southeast England. This new wind farm located in Cambridgeshire is close to EDF Energies Nouvelles' Glass Moor, Red House, and Deeping windfarms whose construction is already well underway. The agreement between EDF Energies Nouvelles and EDF Energy is for the latter to purchase the full electrical output produced by the windfarm. The output of this new wind farm is circa 67GWh per annum, which is enough green energy to supply the annual needs of 15,000 homes. Work on the project has already started with commissioning expected in early 2007. Source: Datamonitor 16/05/06

NORTH AMERICA
Ratings On ITC Holdings And Unit Placed On Watch Negative Re: Acquisition
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has placed the 'BBB' corporate credit ratings and debt ratings on electric transmission holding company ITC Holdings Corp. and its utility subsidiary International Transmission Co. on CreditWatch with negative implications, following the announcement that it will acquire Michigan Electric Transmission Company LLC for $866 million plus $49 million of transaction costs. METC's assets consist principally of the former transmission assets of Consumers Energy Co. Based on ITC Holdings' investor presentation, it expects to finance the acquisition and transaction costs with a mix of funds that will include the assumption of $186 million of existing METC debt, the issuance of $461 million of new debt, and $266 million of equity.  Source: Energy Central 12/05/2006

Regards
Anish Agarwal
Mob: 09811801202