Firstsource Solutions confirmed yesterday that it plans to expand its Londonderry operations with the creation of 300 new jobs.

Expansion

Another 500 jobs will be created at a new centre of excellence in the Province in a location yet to be chosen.

The investment has been backed by Invest NI to the tune of £6.6 million.

£10m investment

Economy Minister Nigel Dodds claimed Northern Ireland would benefit from an additional £10 million in annual salaries as a result of the investment.

He said: "These career opportunities in the financial services and telecoms sectors offer local people the chance to gain valuable, transferable skills."

The announcement follows the minister's recent Invest NI business mission to India, where he met the company to help secure the project.

Links

The investment further enhances the strong links between Northern Ireland and India which has led to a string of inward investments from large Indian companies such as HCL, Polaris and Tech Mahindra.

To further cultivate these links, Invest NI has recently opened an office in Mumbai.

Matthew Vallance, president of Firstsource Solutions, said: "Our Belfast and Derry centres provide high-end business processing services that have achieved very high levels of customer satisfaction.

"This planned expansion will build upon that success and also create another European Centre of Excellence that will help to advance Firstsource Solutions' global reach."

Headquarters

Firstsource, which has its headquarters in India, already operates two centres in Belfast and Londonderry, employing more than 900 people.

It provides call centre and back office processing services to the financial, telecoms and media, travel and healthcare sectors.

The company established its centre in Belfast in June 2006 and five months later opened its Londonderry operation. Both projects were supported by Invest NI.

Firstsource has 34 centres world-wide and employs over 17,000 employees across five countries in four continents.

It specialises in providing BPO services including contact centre and debt collection services to global clients.