Indian software developer Polaris Software Lab will create up to 158 jobs in Northern Ireland over the next three years by opening a software centre in Belfast.
The investment from Polaris, based in the southern Indian city of Chennai, will generate salaries of about £7 million (€10.1 million) in Northern Ireland. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain announced the new jobs at the end of his five-day trade mission to India.
"It is exactly the type of investment we need to signal a transformation of Northern Ireland's economy down the knowledge-based route," Mr Hain said.
"It sends the strongest possible signal to other Indian technology companies seeking a location from which to access the huge European market that Northern Ireland offers the best possible solution."
The Polaris software development centre will serve the banking and financial services sector and complement the company's other centres in India, New Jersey and Singapore. The new office will provide independent quality assurance testing for software written for customers of other suppliers, develop software, and provide 24-hour technical support for European clients.
The Belfast centre will "provide our existing and potential customers in Europe with faster response times and a higher level of service," said Bikash Mathur, executive vice-president of Polaris Europe.
The announcement by Polaris comes less than seven months after Indian technology giant HCL said it would add 600 call centre jobs in Northern Ireland by expanding its operations in Armagh and Belfast.
The move is against the general flow from Europe to countries with low labour costs, such as India, of jobs that can be done over computer or telephone networks .
India commands 44 per cent of the global outsourcing market and earns £9 billion a year in revenue from the business, according to India's main software trading body Nasscom. The movement of jobs has triggered layoffs in Europe, angering trade unions and fuelling opposition to outsourcing.
