Giesecke & Devrients Opens 50th subsidiary

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 Indias 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 countrys 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. 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.