Giesecke & Devrient opens subsidiary in India

11 October, 2004

Giesecke & Devrient, Munich, Germany, which sees India as a huge sales market over the next few years, has stepped up its investments there with the opening of its 50th subsidiary. The company has been supplying banknote and security paper for India’s national currency, the rupee, and for travel documents since 1997, in addition to supplying automatic currency processing systems to, among others, the Reserve Bank of India. This year, the company has also been doing business in the field of cards and complex system solutions.

Giesecke & Devrient’s India opening attracts Chancellor Gerhard Schröder

Munich/Gurgaon–Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) has opened its 50th subsidiary– in the Global Business Park in Gurgaon, India. Guests of honor at the inauguration ceremony were German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, currently touring India with a delegation, and Om Prakash Chautala, Chief Minister of the Indian State of Haryana. By establishing a subsidiary in Gurgaon, G&D is underlining the importance of India as a growth market, and continuing to develop its globalization strategy.

Giesecke & Devrient India Pvt. Ltd. was set up in July 2001 as a distribution company. The company has become a subsidiary with a staff of nearly 100, now moving into new headquarters. G&D signed its first contract to supply an automatic banknote processing machine in 1997 – and delivered the 100th system to an Indian commercial bank in January of this year.

G&D has already been supplying banknote and security paper for India’s national currency the rupee and for travel documents since 1997. In addition, G&D India is market leader for the supply of automatic currency processing systems, one of its chief customers being the Reserve Bank of India. As of 2004, Giesecke & Devrient has also been doing business in the field of cards and complex system solutions. A large number of Indian cellular operators are already turning to locally manufactured G&D products. In the cards and solutions sector, G&D has become one of the country’s top three suppliers within an astoundingly short period.

India is set to become a huge sales market over the next few years. The mobile phone segment alone already encompasses around 33 million subscribers. In view of a population of over one billion, business experts see enormous potential for growth. G&D alone will sell 12 million SIM cards in India in the current fiscal year.

The company puts its investment in India in the next few years at 10 million. The money will be spent on driving the expansion of cards business, in particular setting up a personalization operation and boosting activities in the field of electronic payments. G&D also has expectations of success in the bidding for production of an Indian national identity card. G&D India lead manages marketing and distribution of banknote processing products, SIM cards for telecommunications and debit/credit cards for electronic payments, as well as offering customer support services for its own system technology.

India is more than just a major trade partner, however. In a world of increasingly fast information exchange and advanced communication technologies, India has become a close neighbor. “Today, when we can travel from East to West and from North to South in just a few hours, we are closer together than ever before. As neighbors, we have become responsible for each other “, noted Verena von Mitschke-Collande, one of Giesecke & Devrient’s owners. “As a mark of our friendly relations and hopes for the future, I am delighted to donate an ambulance to the Red Cross organization of the State of Haryana”, Mrs. von Mitschke-Collande continued, underlining the company’s excellent relationship with its newly acquired neighbors.

G&D India is located in the Global Business Park in Gurgaon, around 30 to 45 minutes’ drive from the center of Delhi. Besides Giesecke & Devrient, a large number of other international organizations have set up operations in this highly modern complex in recent years.

About Giesecke & Devrient
Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), based in Munich, Germany, is an international technology group operating subsidiaries and joint ventures throughout the world. In fiscal 2003, the group employed some 6,800 people and generated a revenue of 1.05 billion.
Founded in Leipzig in 1852, G&D began as a printer of securities, and later specialized in banknote production. The company has been developing solutions and complete systems for automatic currency processing since 1970. Today, G&D is also a technology leader in smart cards, and a solutions provider in a wide range of fields, including telecommunications, electronic payments, transportation, health, identification, and Internet security. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.gi-de.com.

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