Outsourcing firm Mphasis is opening a centre in Colombo which will offer legal, finance and accounting services.

The centre will be operational from next year. The office will recruit 600 employees in the first year and expand to 2,000 within three years. The company is investing $2.5m in the first stage of operations.

The global business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has been hit by a global slump, with much of its green pastures in Europe and North America drying up due to inward looking policies forced upon the private sector by governments to save local jobs.