Is IT the Panacea? Romair

#87

My purpose of posting the article was not to start an argument. When I first read Mr. Gangule`s comments my feelings were exactly the same, as a matter of fact I almost sent him an e-mail congratulating him on ``living up to the expectations``. It is kind of amusing that Pakistanis have no problem with our IT policy, our American clients have no problem in dealing with our engineers, but our ``friends`` .... However in all fairness to Mr. Gangule, I have read some articles from him that were quite balanced. Read http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/sumit.htm

Several things I have noticed on this board that I would like to comment about.

1: Frankly speaking I am sick and tired of hearing that Pakistan is the second most corrupt country in the world. So I did a little research of my own. This was stated by ``Transparency International``, when they ran a sample of only 35 countries they found that Pakistan was the second most corrupt country, second only to Nigeria. However next year when they expanded the number of countries to over 70, Pakistan dropped down to somewhere in teens. As a matter of fact they found that both Russia and Indonesia were more corrupt then Pakistan (yet Indonesia had a per capita income of over $2600). This does not mean that we should be very proud just because we dropped down a few points on the corruption scale, for me even one rupee of corruption is one too many, but it only proves that the problem of corruption is common to most third and second world countries and that Pakistan in not unique in this respect.

2: Regarding the WSJ article I posted a couple of days ago, I agreed with Mr. Gangule that Pakistan did not invest in education as much as India did in 60s. Asia week publishes an annual list of best universities of Asia. There are three universities of Pakistan that make it to the list every year, these are GIK, NUST and SZABIST. If you notice all three of them were established in the last 10 years. What were we doing in the previous 40 years if we couldn`t establish a decent university. Yet we have taken the correct steps in last few years. Some say that 90s was a lost decade for Pakistan, well if Pakistan was able to create world class universities in last 10 years then all was not lost, our future generations will get rewards of these deeds. When I left Pakistan in mid 80s, there were only two universities in Karachi. The concept of private university did not exist, today in Karachi alone there are probably over 40 universities, agreed that not all are accredited by university grants commission, but I believe that market needs will eventually settle these problems too.

3: Your comments that Pakistanis are socially more active reminds me of a discussion I had with my foreign students adviser in college. She once told me that the problem with us (that is Pakistani`s, Irani`s and Arabs) is that you are smart people and you know it, thus you are over confident and you don`t put that much effort in your studies. On the other hand Orientals are hard working people, no matter how smart they really are.

Is IT the Panacea? This was published in Wall Street Journal ( interactive edition ) a couple of months ago, I am posting it here for everyone`s benefit.

December 22, 2000

Dow Jones Newswires

Pakistan Looks To IT To Jump-Start Flagging Economy

By DONNA FUSCALDO

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -- Faced with a labor shortage in the U.S., George Bogle did what many constrained employers do. He looked to the international markets for relief.

But the president and chief executive of Houston software company MegaMania Interactive didn`t tap the usual suspects like Ireland and India, famous for their abundant supply of inexpensive software developers. Instead the Texan bet his money on Pakistan, a country reeling from a military coup and facing a stagnant economy.

Ian Rowe had to get iMar.com up and running in breakneck speed but couldn`t afford the inflated outsourcing fees found in the U.S. So the entrepreneur turned to the Internet and found a little Web development company that had the talent and could meet the deadline at a much loftier price. Surprisingly, that company`s headquarters are in Pakistan.

Pakistan, a country that shares its border with bitter rival India, fundamentalist Afghanistan, and communist China, is known more for its nuclear-weapon proliferation, ongoing clashes with India and waning relations with the U.S. than for its technology prowess.

But the new military regime, which ousted the civilian rule in a bloodless coup in October of 1999 is aggressively trying to lure back foreign investment lost during the uprising. Its No. 1 hope in doing so is information technology.

This past year, Pakistan, under the rule of Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf, instituted its first ever IT policy that includes generous tax breaks and financing arrangements for foreigners who set up shop in or outsource software development to the country.

The government has set up many policies to entice IT businesses. The policies include lifting duties on all computer hardware and equipment, providing a five-year tax holiday on software exports and foreign investments and offering software exporters a credit line with a low interest rate that doesn`t require collateral. The government also has committed 5 billion rupees or roughly $850 million to IT and plans to build seven universities concentrating solely on technology.

Software exports account for $60 to $70 million in revenue, but the government wants to boost that to $500 million in five years. And start-ups like MegaMania and iMar.com aren`t the only high-tech companies to turn to Pakistan. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) and Motorola Inc. (MOT) all have a presence in the region, and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) may build a manufacturing plant there, according to Farrakh Qayyum, Minister of Trade. Officials at IBM declined to comment on its future plans.

Why have so many high-tech companies ignored the perils of Pakistan and set up camp there? For Bogle, the Texas businessman, it was simple: to save money.

The cost of software development in Pakistan is about 15% of the cost in the United States, said Bogle, who at first was hesitant to disclose figures out of fear that others would jump on the Pakistan bandwagon.

Bogle`s MegaMania opened up its facilities in Pakistan just months after the October coup that ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

``I got cautioned by a lot of people from friends on,`` said Bogle. ``But some things you do by faith and I had ultimate confidence in our man Norr that he wouldn`t have told me it was safe if it wasn`t,`` he said, referring to MegaMania`s chief technology officer Nooruddin Paracha, who suggested the company look at Pakistan. With a minimal investment, the benefits outweighed the risks, said Bogle, whose company is about to merge with Gulfnet Pakistan Ltd., a Pakistani software developer.

Foreign Investors Urged To Use Caution

But risks need to be considered. In addition to the clashes with India in the Kashmir region which have led to the nuclear weapon proliferation, Pakistan is currently ruled by a military government which has promised to hold elections and turn over control in 2002. So future IT policy is unclear. Investors in the region also have to contend with a lackluster economy.

``Pakistan`s economy is in very deep structural trouble,`` said Sumit Ganguly, professor of Asian Studies and Government at the University of Texas. ``Any where from 26% to 38% of the national budget gets devoted to national defense and another roughly 30% is debt servicing.``

Less than 10% of the population pay taxes and the country derives most of its revenue from agriculture and textile exports, he said.

And that`s not even factoring in corruption, noted Ganguly. A few years ago, a Swiss group ranked Pakistan as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, second only to Nigeria, he said.

But Pakistan`s minister of trade disagrees. He said the government is weeding out corruption. And with a growth rate of 3.5%, the economy is not in bad shape.

``The textile sector is doing well, we have an excellent wheat crop and the economy is not as bad as the media portrays it,`` Qayyum said.

As for the military handing over control in 2002, the current government is committed to the process of elections, Qayyum said.

Still Ganguly said foreign companies should be cautious. ``At this point (Pakistan`s IT policy) is all on paper. It remains to be seen how this will transform in any real meaningful action,`` he said.

At best Ganguly, who called Pakistan`s IT policy is a lot of ``smoke screens,`` said the country`s technology push could be compared with Malaysia`s initiatives a decade ago.

``Malaysia has been able to succeed reasonably well, but the country started out with a much greater base of wealth,`` he said.

Few emerging countries are making a dent in technology. ``A country needs extraordinary engineering skills,`` Qayyum said. ``It`s not like growing corn.``

Motorola, the handset maker, is already benefiting from Pakistan`s IT policy. According to Zouhair Khaliq, director of operations, Europe, Middle East and Africa, at Motorola, the military government has brought more stability and a more receptive regulatory environment. In the past, the country was less stable.

Take January 1995 for instance. The then-ruling government shut down Mobilink GSM, a cellular operator in Pakistan in which Motorola had a 75% stake, citing security reasons. By June of that year, all three cellular operators in Karachi, Pakistan`s largest city, were closed and a ban was imposed until January 1997. As a result, Motorola reduced its stake in Mobilink GSM to 30%, diluting its risk, Khaliq said.

Pakistan Makeover Focuses On Software Exports

But with the new government and its new policies, Mobilink is prospering. ``Mobilink has experienced the best growth in the past 12 months. The Ministry of IT and telecommunications (under the military government) approved a calling party pay policy last month and this is expected to encourage cellular growth as it has in other such markets,`` Khaliq said. Mobilink has grown its customer base three fold and is forecasting 300% growth for next year alone, he said.

Bahram Mohazzebi, Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean general manager at Microsoft, agreed that the technology sector in Pakistan is gaining momentum. He cited the government`s decision to remove duties from technology products. ``Pakistan is a huge market and we believe that it will be a major contributor to IT in the region,`` said Mohazzebi.

Microsoft set up shop in March and expects its presence to grow. Like many high-tech companies, Microsoft was lured by Pakistan`s large population of 132 million people and by cheap labor.

Pakistan is trying to move from being an exporter of cotton and textiles to an exporter of software, said Philip Oldenburg, associate director of the Southern Asia Institute at Columbia University. The country can emulate India, which has attracted IT outsourcing business, Oldenburg said.

An IT push in Pakistan is viable, but Oldenburg said he doesn`t think Pakistan will be able to thrive as much as India has. Pakistan and India share similar English education systems, but India`s higher education programs are more advanced, he said.

``India has an enormous pool of trained engineers,`` Ganguly said. ``Pakistan just doesn`t have that same kind of pool. They never made the same investment in engineering and education that India did in the early `60s.``

Pakistan`s Qayyum disagrees, however. Not only does he contend Pakistan offers better facilities than other countries, it also has an ample number of English-speaking citizens and has bandwidth connectivity rates that are lower than India`s, he said.

``We have a vision to be in the IT map of the world,`` he said. ``Pakistan has the sufficient infrastructure and incentives for IT to flourish as it does in other countries.``

-Donna Fuscaldo; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5253;

donna.fuscaldo@dowjones.com

Is IT the Panacea? This was published in Wall Street Journal ( interactive edition ) a couple of months ago, I am posting it here for everyone`s benefit.

December 22, 2000

Dow Jones Newswires

Pakistan Looks To IT To Jump-Start Flagging Economy

By DONNA FUSCALDO

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -- Faced with a labor shortage in the U.S., George Bogle did what many constrained employers do. He looked to the international markets for relief.

But the president and chief executive of Houston software company MegaMania Interactive didn`t tap the usual suspects like Ireland and India, famous for their abundant supply of inexpensive software developers. Instead the Texan bet his money on Pakistan, a country reeling from a military coup and facing a stagnant economy.

Ian Rowe had to get iMar.com up and running in breakneck speed but couldn`t afford the inflated outsourcing fees found in the U.S. So the entrepreneur turned to the Internet and found a little Web development company that had the talent and could meet the deadline at a much loftier price. Surprisingly, that company`s headquarters are in Pakistan.

Pakistan, a country that shares its border with bitter rival India, fundamentalist Afghanistan, and communist China, is known more for its nuclear-weapon proliferation, ongoing clashes with India and waning relations with the U.S. than for its technology prowess.

But the new military regime, which ousted the civilian rule in a bloodless coup in October of 1999 is aggressively trying to lure back foreign investment lost during the uprising. Its No. 1 hope in doing so is information technology.

This past year, Pakistan, under the rule of Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf, instituted its first ever IT policy that includes generous tax breaks and financing arrangements for foreigners who set up shop in or outsource software development to the country.

The government has set up many policies to entice IT businesses. The policies include lifting duties on all computer hardware and equipment, providing a five-year tax holiday on software exports and foreign investments and offering software exporters a credit line with a low interest rate that doesn`t require collateral. The government also has committed 5 billion rupees or roughly $850 million to IT and plans to build seven universities concentrating solely on technology.

Software exports account for $60 to $70 million in revenue, but the government wants to boost that to $500 million in five years. And start-ups like MegaMania and iMar.com aren`t the only high-tech companies to turn to Pakistan. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) and Motorola Inc. (MOT) all have a presence in the region, and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) may build a manufacturing plant there, according to Farrakh Qayyum, Minister of Trade. Officials at IBM declined to comment on its future plans.

Why have so many high-tech companies ignored the perils of Pakistan and set up camp there? For Bogle, the Texas businessman, it was simple: to save money.

The cost of software development in Pakistan is about 15% of the cost in the United States, said Bogle, who at first was hesitant to disclose figures out of fear that others would jump on the Pakistan bandwagon.

Bogle`s MegaMania opened up its facilities in Pakistan just months after the October coup that ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

``I got cautioned by a lot of people from friends on,`` said Bogle. ``But some things you do by faith and I had ultimate confidence in our man Norr that he wouldn`t have told me it was safe if it wasn`t,`` he said, referring to MegaMania`s chief technology officer Nooruddin Paracha, who suggested the company look at Pakistan. With a minimal investment, the benefits outweighed the risks, said Bogle, whose company is about to merge with Gulfnet Pakistan Ltd., a Pakistani software developer.

Foreign Investors Urged To Use Caution

But risks need to be considered. In addition to the clashes with India in the Kashmir region which have led to the nuclear weapon proliferation, Pakistan is currently ruled by a military government which has promised to hold elections and turn over control in 2002. So future IT policy is unclear. Investors in the region also have to contend with a lackluster economy.

``Pakistan`s economy is in very deep structural trouble,`` said Sumit Ganguly, professor of Asian Studies and Government at the University of Texas. ``Any where from 26% to 38% of the national budget gets devoted to national defense and another roughly 30% is debt servicing.``

Less than 10% of the population pay taxes and the country derives most of its revenue from agriculture and textile exports, he said.

And that`s not even factoring in corruption, noted Ganguly. A few years ago, a Swiss group ranked Pakistan as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, second only to Nigeria, he said.

But Pakistan`s minister of trade disagrees. He said the government is weeding out corruption. And with a growth rate of 3.5%, the economy is not in bad shape.

``The textile sector is doing well, we have an excellent wheat crop and the economy is not as bad as the media portrays it,`` Qayyum said.

As for the military handing over control in 2002, the current government is committed to the process of elections, Qayyum said.

Still Ganguly said foreign companies should be cautious. ``At this point (Pakistan`s IT policy) is all on paper. It remains to be seen how this will transform in any real meaningful action,`` he said.

At best Ganguly, who called Pakistan`s IT policy is a lot of ``smoke screens,`` said the country`s technology push could be compared with Malaysia`s initiatives a decade ago.

``Malaysia has been able to succeed reasonably well, but the country started out with a much greater base of wealth,`` he said.

Few emerging countries are making a dent in technology. ``A country needs extraordinary engineering skills,`` Qayyum said. ``It`s not like growing corn.``

Motorola, the handset maker, is already benefiting from Pakistan`s IT policy. According to Zouhair Khaliq, director of operations, Europe, Middle East and Africa, at Motorola, the military government has brought more stability and a more receptive regulatory environment. In the past, the country was less stable.

Take January 1995 for instance. The then-ruling government shut down Mobilink GSM, a cellular operator in Pakistan in which Motorola had a 75% stake, citing security reasons. By June of that year, all three cellular operators in Karachi, Pakistan`s largest city, were closed and a ban was imposed until January 1997. As a result, Motorola reduced its stake in Mobilink GSM to 30%, diluting its risk, Khaliq said.

Pakistan Makeover Focuses On Software Exports

But with the new government and its new policies, Mobilink is prospering. ``Mobilink has experienced the best growth in the past 12 months. The Ministry of IT and telecommunications (under the military government) approved a calling party pay policy last month and this is expected to encourage cellular growth as it has in other such markets,`` Khaliq said. Mobilink has grown its customer base three fold and is forecasting 300% growth for next year alone, he said.

Bahram Mohazzebi, Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean general manager at Microsoft, agreed that the technology sector in Pakistan is gaining momentum. He cited the government`s decision to remove duties from technology products. ``Pakistan is a huge market and we believe that it will be a major contributor to IT in the region,`` said Mohazzebi.

Microsoft set up shop in March and expects its presence to grow. Like many high-tech companies, Microsoft was lured by Pakistan`s large population of 132 million people and by cheap labor.

Pakistan is trying to move from being an exporter of cotton and textiles to an exporter of software, said Philip Oldenburg, associate director of the Southern Asia Institute at Columbia University. The country can emulate India, which has attracted IT outsourcing business, Oldenburg said.

An IT push in Pakistan is viable, but Oldenburg said he doesn`t think Pakistan will be able to thrive as much as India has. Pakistan and India share similar English education systems, but India`s higher education programs are more advanced, he said.

``India has an enormous pool of trained engineers,`` Ganguly said. ``Pakistan just doesn`t have that same kind of pool. They never made the same investment in engineering and education that India did in the early `60s.``

Pakistan`s Qayyum disagrees, however. Not only does he contend Pakistan offers better facilities than other countries, it also has an ample number of English-speaking citizens and has bandwidth connectivity rates that are lower than India`s, he said.

``We have a vision to be in the IT map of the world,`` he said. ``Pakistan has the sufficient infrastructure and incentives for IT to flourish as it does in other countries.``

-Donna Fuscaldo; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5253;

donna.fuscaldo@dowjones.com

IT Is Not A Magic Wand This was published in Wall Street Journal ( interactive edition ) a few weeks ago. I am posting it here for the benefit of all.

December 22, 2000

Dow Jones Newswires

Pakistan Looks To IT To Jump-Start Flagging Economy

By DONNA FUSCALDO

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK -- Faced with a labor shortage in the U.S., George Bogle did what many constrained employers do. He looked to the international markets for relief.

But the president and chief executive of Houston software company MegaMania Interactive didn`t tap the usual suspects like Ireland and India, famous for their abundant supply of inexpensive software developers. Instead the Texan bet his money on Pakistan, a country reeling from a military coup and facing a stagnant economy.

Ian Rowe had to get iMar.com up and running in breakneck speed but couldn`t afford the inflated outsourcing fees found in the U.S. So the entrepreneur turned to the Internet and found a little Web development company that had the talent and could meet the deadline at a much loftier price. Surprisingly, that company`s headquarters are in Pakistan.

Pakistan, a country that shares its border with bitter rival India, fundamentalist Afghanistan, and communist China, is known more for its nuclear-weapon proliferation, ongoing clashes with India and waning relations with the U.S. than for its technology prowess.

But the new military regime, which ousted the civilian rule in a bloodless coup in October of 1999 is aggressively trying to lure back foreign investment lost during the uprising. Its No. 1 hope in doing so is information technology.

This past year, Pakistan, under the rule of Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf, instituted its first ever IT policy that includes generous tax breaks and financing arrangements for foreigners who set up shop in or outsource software development to the country.

The government has set up many policies to entice IT businesses. The policies include lifting duties on all computer hardware and equipment, providing a five-year tax holiday on software exports and foreign investments and offering software exporters a credit line with a low interest rate that doesn`t require collateral. The government also has committed 5 billion rupees or roughly $850 million to IT and plans to build seven universities concentrating solely on technology.

Software exports account for $60 to $70 million in revenue, but the government wants to boost that to $500 million in five years. And start-ups like MegaMania and iMar.com aren`t the only high-tech companies to turn to Pakistan. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW) and Motorola Inc. (MOT) all have a presence in the region, and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) may build a manufacturing plant there, according to Farrakh Qayyum, Minister of Trade. Officials at IBM declined to comment on its future plans.

Why have so many high-tech companies ignored the perils of Pakistan and set up camp there? For Bogle, the Texas businessman, it was simple: to save money.

The cost of software development in Pakistan is about 15% of the cost in the United States, said Bogle, who at first was hesitant to disclose figures out of fear that others would jump on the Pakistan bandwagon.

Bogle`s MegaMania opened up its facilities in Pakistan just months after the October coup that ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

``I got cautioned by a lot of people from friends on,`` said Bogle. ``But some things you do by faith and I had ultimate confidence in our man Norr that he wouldn`t have told me it was safe if it wasn`t,`` he said, referring to MegaMania`s chief technology officer Nooruddin Paracha, who suggested the company look at Pakistan. With a minimal investment, the benefits outweighed the risks, said Bogle, whose company is about to merge with Gulfnet Pakistan Ltd., a Pakistani software developer.

Foreign Investors Urged To Use Caution

But risks need to be considered. In addition to the clashes with India in the Kashmir region which have led to the nuclear weapon proliferation, Pakistan is currently ruled by a military government which has promised to hold elections and turn over control in 2002. So future IT policy is unclear. Investors in the region also have to contend with a lackluster economy.

``Pakistan`s economy is in very deep structural trouble,`` said Sumit Ganguly, professor of Asian Studies and Government at the University of Texas. ``Any where from 26% to 38% of the national budget gets devoted to national defense and another roughly 30% is debt servicing.``

Less than 10% of the population pay taxes and the country derives most of its revenue from agriculture and textile exports, he said.

And that`s not even factoring in corruption, noted Ganguly. A few years ago, a Swiss group ranked Pakistan as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, second only to Nigeria, he said.

But Pakistan`s minister of trade disagrees. He said the government is weeding out corruption. And with a growth rate of 3.5%, the economy is not in bad shape.

``The textile sector is doing well, we have an excellent wheat crop and the economy is not as bad as the media portrays it,`` Qayyum said.

As for the military handing over control in 2002, the current government is committed to the process of elections, Qayyum said.

Still Ganguly said foreign companies should be cautious. ``At this point (Pakistan`s IT policy) is all on paper. It remains to be seen how this will transform in any real meaningful action,`` he said.

At best Ganguly, who called Pakistan`s IT policy is a lot of ``smoke screens,`` said the country`s technology push could be compared with Malaysia`s initiatives a decade ago.

``Malaysia has been able to succeed reasonably well, but the country started out with a much greater base of wealth,`` he said.

Few emerging countries are making a dent in technology. ``A country needs extraordinary engineering skills,`` Qayyum said. ``It`s not like growing corn.``

Motorola, the handset maker, is already benefiting from Pakistan`s IT policy. According to Zouhair Khaliq, director of operations, Europe, Middle East and Africa, at Motorola, the military government has brought more stability and a more receptive regulatory environment. In the past, the country was less stable.

Take January 1995 for instance. The then-ruling government shut down Mobilink GSM, a cellular operator in Pakistan in which Motorola had a 75% stake, citing security reasons. By June of that year, all three cellular operators in Karachi, Pakistan`s largest city, were closed and a ban was imposed until January 1997. As a result, Motorola reduced its stake in Mobilink GSM to 30%, diluting its risk, Khaliq said.

Pakistan Makeover Focuses On Software Exports

But with the new government and its new policies, Mobilink is prospering. ``Mobilink has experienced the best growth in the past 12 months. The Ministry of IT and telecommunications (under the military government) approved a calling party pay policy last month and this is expected to encourage cellular growth as it has in other such markets,`` Khaliq said. Mobilink has grown its customer base three fold and is forecasting 300% growth for next year alone, he said.

Bahram Mohazzebi, Gulf and Eastern Mediterranean general manager at Microsoft, agreed that the technology sector in Pakistan is gaining momentum. He cited the government`s decision to remove duties from technology products. ``Pakistan is a huge market and we believe that it will be a major contributor to IT in the region,`` said Mohazzebi.

Microsoft set up shop in March and expects its presence to grow. Like many high-tech companies, Microsoft was lured by Pakistan`s large population of 132 million people and by cheap labor.

Pakistan is trying to move from being an exporter of cotton and textiles to an exporter of software, said Philip Oldenburg, associate director of the Southern Asia Institute at Columbia University. The country can emulate India, which has attracted IT outsourcing business, Oldenburg said.

An IT push in Pakistan is viable, but Oldenburg said he doesn`t think Pakistan will be able to thrive as much as India has. Pakistan and India share similar English education systems, but India`s higher education programs are more advanced, he said.

``India has an enormous pool of trained engineers,`` Ganguly said. ``Pakistan just doesn`t have that same kind of pool. They never made the same investment in engineering and education that India did in the early `60s.``

Pakistan`s Qayyum disagrees, however. Not only does he contend Pakistan offers better facilities than other countries, it also has an ample number of English-speaking citizens and has bandwidth connectivity rates that are lower than India`s, he said.

``We have a vision to be in the IT map of the world,`` he said. ``Pakistan has the sufficient infrastructure and incentives for IT to flourish as it does in other countries.``

-Donna Fuscaldo; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5253;

donna.fuscaldo@dowjones.com