IT services firm NTT Data Corporation, part of Japanese telecommunications conglomerate Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Group, has set up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.

The office will oversee various regional operations, starting with Australia, and then Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition, the headquarters aims to become an active player in Singapore’s public sector IT services market and has set itself a regional sales target of US$100 million (S$139 million).

According to Ryoji Fukuya, President and CEO, NTT Data Asia-Pacific, Singapore is ideal as its headquarters due to the city state’s location, business environment and infrastructure. These characteristics allow the company to immerse itself in the country’s strong IT services market.

NTT will initially hire 20 staff within a year to take on sales, project management and administrative roles. The number of employees is expected to rise to about 50.