Fujitsu Ltd. is poised to boost its manpower in the Philippines and India for enhanced information technology services abroad, aiming to meet demand from the United States and Europe while reducing costs.

The major Japanese IT solution provider is planning to increase the combined workforce in the two countries from the current 6,000 to 9,200 within this year to strengthen such services as software development and multilingual support, a Fujitsu spokesman said.

Fujitsu's offshore IT service base, called a Global Delivery Center, provides various services -- application program development, remote IT infrastructure management, hardware maintenance and outsourced clerical work such as accounting and personnel affairs.

The company will beef up the number of employees in the Philippines from 1,000 to 1,200 while opening a base in Cebu in addition to Manila to enhance its customer desk function, both by year-end.

In India, it will set up an additional center in Pune in the western state of Maharashtra and bolster the workforce in the country from 5,000 to 8,000.

Fujitsu currently has a total of 10,000 employees in eight countries, including China, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal and Russia. It plans to increase its manpower to 18,000 by the end of next March, according to the spokesman.