From correspondents in Kerala, India, 02:00 PM IST

California-based UST Global, a leading provider of IT services and solutions to international clients, has opened a new development centre in Chennai with an investment of $12 million.

The 43,500 sq ft facility, which was opened by US Consul General in Chennai David T. Hopper, is the third in India for the Aliso Viejo-headquartered company after Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. It intends to seat some 1,500 professionals.

The company's facility at the Technopark centre here employs nearly 3,000.

'The new facility shows the increasing synergy between our two countries. It is like getting together with old friends in a new location,' Hopper was quoted as saying in a statement.

'UST Global and its employees' track record in community development globally is outstanding.'

Ramakrishnan Narayanan, the operations head for UST Global in Chennai, said the new software centre was necessitated by the need to expand operations following an aggressive growth for the company last year.

'This centre will be another key strategic location from which we will provide our 2,000 global clients with the domain expertise they have come to expect from UST Global,' Narayanan said.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)