German chemical giant BASF announced on 5 May that it will establish a Global Service Hub in Hyderabad to handle finance and HR for its worldwide operations. The decision follows a multi-city evaluation and comes just months after BASF opened a digital hub in the same city. The new entity—BASF Global Business Services Private Limited—will ramp up over the next two years, creating high-skill roles in finance, HR, supply-chain support and in-house consulting. Hyderabad joins Berlin, Kuala Lumpur and Montevideo as the fourth node in BASF’s shared-services network, reinforcing India’s role as a magnet for global corporate functions. BASF executives say the hub will “act as a landing pad” for short-term specialists from Europe and Latin America, implying an uptick in intra-company transfer (ICT) visas and local cross-border relocation activity. Telangana’s IT & Industries Minister Sridhar Babu welcomed the move, noting the state’s ambition to position Hyderabad as a preferred destination for enterprise mobility alongside its life-sciences cluster. For mobility managers, BASF’s announcement underscores Hyderabad’s growing pull for expatriates: rental demand in the city’s financial district is up 18 % year-on-year, and international schools report waiting lists for 2026-27 admissions. Companies planning to co-locate teams should factor in local housing availability and new Telangana rules requiring employers to register foreign nationals on the state’s digital resident portal within 30 days of arrival. The hub is expected to be operational by Q3 2026, with phased staff relocation beginning in July. BASF says it will work with relocation providers to streamline work permits and spouse employment authorisations under India’s updated dependent-visa rules.
Source: BASF Media Release
