Canadian IT player Teranet sets up base in Kerala Technopark.

Teranet Inc., a leading IT solutions provider for the Canadian financial services and real estate markets, has set up TeraServ, its first centre for software development at Technopark here.

Teranet is 100 per cent owned by OMERS Infrastructure, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans with $97 billion in net assets, a spokesman for the company said.

‘Natural choice’

A jointly-sponsored pension plan with 1,000 participating employers, OMERS invests and administers pension on behalf of almost half a million active and retired members.

Earlier this year, OMERS Infrastructure acquired a 22.4 per cent stake in IndInfravit Trust, holder of a portfolio of five operational toll road concessions across India.

With OMERS’s presence in India and the country’s rapid growth in the technology industry, India was a natural choice for locating Teranet’s new centre of development, the spokesman added.

Earlier in January, the top management of Teranet/OMERS met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and had expressed their willingness to set up shop at the Technopark.

The MoU was signed between Teranet and Technopark on January 22, and the space was allocated soon after. Teranet will begin operations with a workforce of 45 and plans to expand the strength to 150 in a year.

Two-way investment

“Two-way investment is an important part of the Canada-India relationship. Teranet’s expansion in Kerala will create jobs and contribute to the economic prosperity in both countries,” said Nicole Girard, Consul General of Canada.

Teranet was attracted to Kerala given the State’s high-quality talent pool.

“Top talent is key to our success today and in the future. The new centre of development will enable us to deliver industry-leading solutions to our clients.” said Elgin Farewell, President & CEO, Teranet.

Talent is also crucial to boost growth using advanced technologies such as AI and blockchain in the future, he added.

Hrishikesh Nair, CEO, Technopark, said that with Teranet setting up operations here, Kerala hopes to see a good influx of big IT companies in emerging technologies.

On Wednesday, Girard inaugurated the 10,000-sq ft new facility at the Pampa building in Technopark in the presence of Elgin Farewell and Fariba Rawhani, Chief Information Officer, Teranet.

Also present were John Herald, Vice- President, Collateral Management Solutions; Tenio Evangelista, Vice-President, OMERS; Eric Robinson, Consul and Trade Secretary; and Jake Thomas, Economic and Political Advisor to India.

Role in Canadian economy

TeraServ will exclusively serve the Teranet businesses including Teranet Collateral Management Solutions, a leading financial services solutions provider.

Teranet is leader in the delivery and transformation of statutory registry services with extensive expertise in land and commercial registries in Canada.

It operates the Electronic Registration System for the Province of Ontario, and The Property Registry for the Province of Manitoba.

Its centralised electronic registry systems are an integral part of the Ontario and Manitoba economies, enabling quick and efficient land and property transactions, the spokesman said.

HBL