Zenith Infotech has already acquired a Singapore-based software developer Zensoft Technologies and has renamed it Zenith Infotech (Singapore) Pte Ltd.Zenith will also set up mini-development centres in the US and UK and the subsidiaries will be floated in these countries. Zenith Infotech is a group company of the Rs 200-crore hardware firm Zenith Computers Ltd.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Saraf said, "there is a lot of market in bank automation software. By 2002 around 25,000 bank branches have to be computerised. There are a lot of small companies which have already developed software packages for the process."

"The acquisitions will be financed through internal accruals," Saraf added.Apart from bank automation software and management information systems for banks there will be a host of other related operations that will need software packages, Saraf pointed out. "We are also looking at dot.com companies for acquisitions, but banking software developers are a priority at present," Saraf said.

Zenith Infotech is looking at a targeted turnover of Rs 21.15 crore in the current financial year, with a net profit of Rs 7.22 crore. In the half year ended September 30, 1999 the company recorded a turnover of Rs 8.02 crore and a net profit of Rs 3.13 crore.

In 1998-99 the company had recorded a turnover of Rs 10.92 crore with a net profit of Rs 3.13 crore.