Australian financial services giant Westpac is on the hunt for outsourcing suppliers to take on contracts worth up to $500m.

Indian technology companies Infosys, HCL and other firms are bidding against multinational rivals IBM and HP-EDS, it has been widely reported.

A consulting firm is now advising Westpac on how to flesh out its IT transformation programme, which is aimed at saving over $400m by 2011.

“HCL, Infosys and Wipro, apart from IBM, are already in discussions with Westpac for these contracts — offshoring being considered as a critical portion of these engagements,” said an anonymous senior executive at one of the top tech firms looking into this opportunity.