Reuters Summit-UPDATE 2-Wipro says financial segment improving

(For other news from the Reuters India Investment Summit, click here)

* Consolidation projects drive financial segment

* Australia emerging as one of its key markets

* Sees sustaining operating margins

* Says deal pipeline looks good (Adds oper margins outlook, more executive comments)

By Bijoy Koyitty & Anurag Kotoky

BANGALORE, Nov 25 (Reuters) - India's Wipro Ltd (WIPR.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) is seeing an uptick in demand at its key financial services segment and expects to sustain overall operating margins in the near term as the business environment improves.

The global banking sector has seen a slew of mergers and acquisitions in the recent past, and firms such as Wipro, the country's No. 3 software services exporter, are cashing in on the growing need for technology services.

"The recovery is taking place slowly ... Customers have decided to move on and make things happen," Suresh Vaswani, joint CEO of Wipro's IT business, said at the Reuters India Investment Summit in Bangalore.