India's technology hub of Bangalore, which is wooing foreign investment in biotechnology, expects a big jump in the number of companies and countries that will attend its annual industry showcase this year.

At least 20 countries, including the United States, France, Germany and Australia, and about 100 companies--both double last year's tallies--are expected to attend the "Bangalore Bio 2003" show between April 15 and 17, government officials said.

"We are mainly targeting labour-intensive biotech work such as contract research and bioinformatics from overseas companies," Vivek Kulkarni, who heads the infotech and biotech departments of southern Karnataka state, told a news conference.

While low-end contract research and bioinformatics, given India's strong software skills, could be a good starting point, entrepreneurs expect new opportunities in light of path breaking recent developments such as the mapping of the human genome.

Karnataka, whose capital is Bangalore, already has more than 100 biotech companies employing around 7,000 people. Many investors have been attracted by the state's large pool of skilled workers and welcoming business environment.

Europe's second-biggest drug-maker, AstraZeneca Plc, Germany's Sartorius AG, both of which are among the show's sponsors, and US-based drug testing firm Quintiles Transnational Corp have units in Bangalore.