INDIAN BUSINESS process outsourcing firm Cognizant has expanded its Philippine operations to 600 seats, to take advantage of the wealth of talents that the country has to offer.

In a briefing Wednesday, Cognizant global delivery president and managing director R Chandrasekaran said the company?s previous 200-employee operations could no longer meet the needs of the clients being serviced here.

The company started operating in the Philippines in October 2009, providing high-end business transaction processing services to a global telecommunications industry player.

The Manila delivery center, situated at the McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, could accommodate 600 seats and 800 employees.

The company is currently hiring to fill these new seats.

?We plan to also move to other cities, to leverage the talent and keep our costs down. Just as we have done in India, we?ll also be expanding here in the Philippines,? he said. ?Based on customer feedback, there?s a big potential for this (Philippine) center to grow.?

He said that growing Cognizant?s presence in the country fit well with the company?s overall strategy of ?intellectual arbitrage,? or taking advantage of talents where they were located.