German software giant SAP plans to double its headcount in India to 1,500 next year, a senior company executive said on Tuesday.

The world's leading provider of business software solutions currently has 750 employees in India.

"The headcount projection of SAP in India is 1,500 employees in 2004," member of the SAP Executive Board, Peter Zencke, told reporters in Bangalore.

The company would hire people for software development, field operations and consulting, Zencke said.

The New York Stock Exchange-listed SAP on Tuesday unveiled its new development facility, the largest hub for the company in the Asia-Pacific region.

SAP Labs India's main focus would be devoted to global research and development for products and services introduced to SAP customers in India and other markets worldwide, company officials said.

The company has planned the second phase of the campus, housing 1,100 professionals.

The first phase, inaugurated on Tuesday, houses the current workforce of 750. SAP said it has invested in the new 21-acre facility.

SAP, which began operations in India in November 1998, said it currently has 400 customers in the country, including 150 in the small and medium businesses space.