• World looks at India as hot business destination
• India is ranked Number Second in bio-gas
• India's economy to reach $1tr mark by 2009
• India to become hub for sanitaryware

• India to curb foreign borrowing
• India is Asia's top spot for billionaires: Forbes
• State poised to ride the MPO wave

While Indian companies are keen to establish their foothold across the world, more and more corporates are interested in coming to India and start their operations here. As per a survey done by New York Stock Exchange, India has been ranked as the top destination for investment and has been acknowledged as the most important strategic destination for global businesses. India is fifth most crucial destination in term of strategic importance. It is ahead of Japan, Brazil, Russia, Australia and New Zealand and next only to US, Western Europe, China and Japan. As much as 42 percent of the CEOs said that India was strategically key to their business through 2008 - with 12 percent terming the country's importance as crucial and 30 per cent as important, said the survey, which took responses from 240 CEOs of NYSE-listed firms. India was named as the single-most crucial region by one out of 100 companies from across the world, while the ratio was much higher at one out of 48 among the non-US companies. India received top honours in terms of scouting for possible locations to set up operations. A majority 47 per cent CEOs said their focus on India was primarily related to exploring favourable locations for operations or plants. Besides, India also emerged as a country of significant importance for identifying new markets, although only after Japan, Eastern Europe, Russia, Western Europe and the US. A total of 60 per cent of CEOs said their focus on India was primarily for identifying new markets to sell their products and services, while Japan topped the list with 77 percent. Vodafone.Blackstone, Essar, Wal-Mart et al are the few names that have started their operations in India with help of their Indian partners. Six percent said the primary reason behind their focus on India was exploring a source of products and materials -- second after China (nine per cent), while seven per cent said it was for establishing a regional area of strength as against nine percent for China. The things are going to remain optimistic looking at the results of the survey which suggests that CEOs were optimistic about opportunities in global markets and they expect the global trade environment to have a favourable impact on their businesses in the near future. The responses from the 240 CEOs suggest that an organisation's ability to conduct business globally would be vital to its success in 2008 and beyond. "The survey results also indicate that most CEOs view emerging markets as an opportunity, while very few see them as a threat. Companies based outside the US are even more positive about emerging markets than those based in the US," NYSE said. For a land known for its red tapism and incompetitiveness just a few years back, such motivating results open new area of hope for Indian companies as well.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, August 22, 2007

Back to Index

India has set new limits on how much national firms can borrow from abroad, in a move to cool the rapidly expanding economy and calm inflation. Indian firms wanting foreign loans of $20m (£9.8m) or more will need consent both for the loans and the right to bring the money into the country. Increasing numbers of Indian companies have sought credit from overseas, where interest rates are lower. In the 12 months to March, Indian firms borrowed some $16bn from abroad.

Currency impact
One side effect of higher inflows of foreign capital has been that the rupee has risen sharply, rising more than 10% in the past year, hitting a nine-year high in July of 40.20 to the dollar. This has made it harder for exporters, whose goods have become relatively more expensive overseas. The large inflow of foreign money into India has also pushed up prices domestically, making it harder for ordinary Indians. Soon after the announcement, the rupee weakened marginally in early trade to 40.82 to the dollar. Finance minister P. Chidambaram said the government was not favouring "a blanket ban" on overseas borrowing, which could harm small and medium-sized firms. The new cap on borrowing is effective immediately but loans already agreed will be exempt.

Courtesy: http://news.bbc.co.uk, August 8, 2007

Back to Index

India is ranked Number Second in bio-gas and Number Four in Wind Energy Development globally. Giving a key-note address during the celebration of State level function of Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas today Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Mr. Vilas Muttemwar said that solar water heating system has become very popular in urban, commercial and industrial sectors. Over 20 lakh sq. meter solar collector area has been installed for solar water heaters and other solar thermal applications. Addressing a gathering of more than 2500 school children from various schools in and around in Delhi, the Minister explained that solar photovoltaic technology has been used for number of applications such as lighting, communication, water pumping, power generation etc. Over 10 lakh photovoltaic systems have been promoted from this application. The Minister said that excessive use of fossil fuels were creating environmental problems in the form of global warming and climate change. India is blessed with plenty of renewable energy sources such as solar, bio-energy, wind and hydel energy. Shri Muttemwar described them as non-depleting, environmental friendly sources and available in most parts of the country all the time. With such a vast pool of renewable sources available, the ministry is striving to provide energy in every village and lighting in every house. Encouraging people and especially children to increase the use of renewable energy to protect the environment, the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms. Sheela Dikshit said that Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas serves to educate and mobilize people across the country for environmental protection, to inspire action on personal, community, national and international levels. She said that each of us can join in voluntary action to build a productive land in harmony with nature. Dr. R.K.Pachauri, Head of TERI and Chairman of United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that at TERI, they want to rekindle their commitment to the cause and nation to develop and promote technologies for efficient and sustainable use of natural and renewable resources. More than 2500 students from public, private and Government Schools of Delhi participated in this event. Students administered Akshay Urja Pledge to the audience to avoid excessive consumption of energy derived from conventional sources and to follow the path of renewable energy. A week-long series of events were organized which include essay writing competition, inter-school banner and caricatcher, painting competition, songs, skits and signature campaign. Solar torches and educational kits developed by TERI were given as prizes to students and schools.

Courtesy: http://www.jansamachar.net/display.php3?id=&num=7865&lang=English, August 22, 2007

Back to Index

India's emerging economic clout has made it Asia's top spot for billionaires with its 40 richest businesspeople worth a collective $170 billion, up from $106 billion last year, according to leading American business magazine Forbes. "India's top ten, worth $112 billion, account for two-thirds of that wealth," it said in a special Monday noting, "India's rising fortunes are underscored by the increasing prosperity of its wealthiest citizens." "India was one of the world's poorest economies when it won its independence from Britain in 1947. Incredibly, 60 years later, the country's emerging economic clout has made it Asia's top spot for billionaires," Forbes said. This year, for the first time in two decades of wealth tracking, Forbes counted more Indian than Japanese billionaires in its annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people. Three Indians even made it to the list of the top 20 of the world's richest. Only the US had more billionaires in the top global ranks.

India's hot stock market, up 39 per cent this year, and its robust real estate market helped swell most fortunes. The minimum net worth needed to make the cut rose to $790 million, up from $590 million. Lakshmi Mittal, who lives in London and forged a landmark deal in June to acquire Luxembourg rival Arcelor, remains No. 1 and is worth $25 billion. Mukesh and Anil Ambani unseated Azim Premji, who had been India's richest resident for years. The two brothers, who split their business empire last year after a much-publicised feud, have found life alone much richer. Mukesh's fortune rose by $11.5 billion while Anil's increased by $9.3 billion. Still the spat continues with one of Anil's companies recently taking Mukesh's Reliance Industries to court over a gas supply agreement, Forbes noted. Many tycoons have been in the news lately for negotiating big deals. Venugopal Dhoot is set to acquire Daewoo Electronics for $700 million. Commodities magnate Kumar Mangalam Birla paid $1 billion to buy the Tata Group's stake in their telecom joint venture Idea. Banker Uday Kotak bought out Goldman Sach's stake in his bank's investment banking and brokerage arms. There are five newcomers in the Forbes list, including politically connected Kalanidhi Maran, who runs regional broadcaster Sun TV; Ramesh Chandra, who made a fortune building middle-class housing; and Jignesh Shah, who set up India's largest commodities exchange. Two others, tractor tycoon Keshub Mahindra and Infosys Technologies cofounder K. Dinesh, return to the list after having previously slipped off. This year's seven dropouts include India's richest self-made woman, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. The stock of her biopharmaceutical firm Biocon dropped 26 per cent in the past 12 months. The list's biggest loser was Anurag Dikshit, No. 29, who saw the stock of his Internet gaming outfit, PartyGaming, tank over regulatory issues. It was a vastly different story in 1987 when Forbes began tracking fortunes around the world. That year the only Indian to make the cut was the Birla family, with a net worth of almost $2 billion. The Birla family remained the sole Indians on the list for seven years until 1994, when Dhirubhai Ambani of Reliance Industries made his debut with his petrochemicals fortune. Forbes said India was a relatively sleepy place for the world's wealthiest until three years ago with just nine billionaires in 2004, none ranked higher than 58. That's when wealth began taking off, with the fast-rising stock market and booming real estate sector bringing prosperity as never before. In the last three years, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex index soared from 6,000 to more than 15,000 recently. The collective wealth of Indian billionaires jumped six fold from $32 billion to $191 billion in that time. Veteran investment banker Nimesh Kampani, chairperson of the JM Financial Group and until recently, Morgan Stanley's Indian partner, said that friendlier tax laws, notably the 2004 elimination of capital gains tax on the sale of equity shares, encouraged entrepreneurs to list their companies. If the stock market keeps rising, the tide of good fortune will continue to create many more of the newly rich, bankers cited by Forbes said. Kampani, for one, predicts India will have 100 billionaires by 2009.

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com, August 14, 2007

Back to Index

Indian Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar has stressed the "outstanding resilience" of his country's economy, saying the government is thinking of investing $300 billion in major infrastructure projects in the near future to support growth and further development. Speaking before the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) on Tuesday night, Kumar said the Indian government also has three new initiatives that include investments in petrochemicals, manufacturing facilities in the country's different regions, and railroads to connect seven states. He described the Indian economy as "unique" not only because of unparalleled growth but also of its social justice component. He said it is remarkable to see a nine-per cent GDP growth in India, a country of over one billion people that treats individuals fairly and gives them a just share of the benefits of society. "India is rising - and the outstanding indicators of resilience of the Indian economy are many..." he told members of IBPC Dubai, which was formed in 2003 as the unified body of three organisations - Indian Business Council, Overseas Indians Economic Forum and Business & Professional Club. Kumar cited that due to its high growth in gross domestic product, India's economy will touch $1 trillion by 2009 while its international trade is now worth $250 billion, and its foreign reserves amount to $210 billion. He also mentioned that the market capitalisation of the Bombay Stock Exchange had increased to $1 trillion. Already, India's BPO industry including the writing of software for major foreign companies, call centres and back-office operations is being tapped by global players. The sector hit $12.5 billion in 2004. The country's biotech industry, on the other hand, will be worth $5 billion for the next five years and generate one million jobs. "Its IT industry is also doing very well,according to Abbas Ali Mirza, president of IBPC.

Courtesy: www.khaleejtimes.com, August 09, 2007

Back to Index

MPOs or manufacturing process outsourcing may just be the next logical step to the BPO phenomenon and the Indian rubber industry is set to be the seat of this trend, given a little government aid. And unlike in the case of BPOs and knowledge process outsourcers, the KPOs, where the state suffered owing to a delayed start, West Bengal has the potential to ride the wave. "Rubber is a highly labour intensive industry and foreign manufacturers are on the lookout for fresh venues with labour costs shooting everywhere in the world. The climate and demographics of our country place us at a highly advantageous position," said Mr Sawar Dhanania, regional manager east, All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA). Labour here is cheapest in the world, with several companies in Europe and Latin America willing to shift production base to India provided raw material supply is ensured. It will benefit the large section of the population that has little or no education. The only issue, however, is the availability of raw material that the government needs to take care of, he said. India produces just enough of natural rubber to fulfil its internal demand. "The need of the hour is to identify new areas for cultivating rubber. Tripura has opened the door to the north east, producing 35,000 tons of latex this year. Production is set to cross 1,00,000 tons in a decade. The climate in the region is conducive to growing rubber," said Mr TK Mukherjee, vice president, AIRIA. A rubber park over 100 acres with an investment of Rs 500 crore will also come up in Tripura soon. "Not only the north-east but states like West Bengal will also benefit if large scale rubber plantation is taken up in the north-east," Mr Dhanania said. West Bengal already has a distinct advantage. It was once a national leader in rubber products. "Most industries here closed because of rising latex costs (almost three fold in three years) and constrained supplies. But with a lot of automobile and other industries coming up in the state rubber will be needed in larger quantity. Something which adds up to the advantage of the sector is the fact that it is mostly done on small scale. Of the 4,500 odd rubber products manufacturing units in the country 3,992 (95 per cent) were small scale units employing 350,000 people. The number will grow to 500,000 by 2010, apart from technical and skilled employment. The areas of concern are high raw material prices and short supplies, old technology and high energy costs while the advantages are cheap labour, high quality natural rubber. The association seek government help in identifying areas for increasing cultivation, research and innovation, while the industry can focus on customer defined market, investments in areas of basic research and technology and restructuring of units. China has already shown the way.

Courtesy: www.thestatesman.net, August 02, 2007

Back to Index

India could soon become a manufacturing hub for international sanitaryware brands. International brands like Roca, Kohler and H&R Johnson plan to expand their scale of operations in India. The expansion will be either through brownfield expansion of their joint venture partners or through setting up greenfield ventures. Apart from supplying to the global market, the facilities will also cater to the rising consumer demand within India for branded and premium sanitaryware products. Close to Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) will be invested over a period of two years in the Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion) Indian market. Kohler India vice president and commercial director Sharad Mathur told Business Standard that Kohler will start operations in its 250 acre plant, one of the biggest plants in Asia, in about 17 months. The company is investing Rs 900 crore (Rs 9 billion) in this facility. "Products from this plant would not just be sold in India but become a source base for US and Europe markets," said Mathur. Kohler India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the $5.2 billion US-based company that manufactures both sanitaryware and kitchen products. Parryware Roca India, the joint venture between the South India-based Parryware and the $2.35 billion Spanish giant, Roca also intends to make the Indian operations abroad. K E Ranganathan, managing director, Parryware Roca India said, "We have been serving the demand for premium sanitaryware products in India by importing Roca from Europe and China. In the next four years we have a target to manufacture the entire Roca range, keeping export markets in mind." The company plans to invest about Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) in the next two years to scale up its factories in India. On the other hand, companies are also looking at expanding the premium end of the Indian market. "The average cost of making a branded Parryware bathroom in India is about Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. But a minimal Roca bathroom can be made in about Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000. Younger generation is willing to spend this extra amount to get a branded product as it is also seen as part of lifestyle." explains Ranganathan. "The growing spending power in India has led to opulence entering into ordinary living. This is the reason we are expecting critical volumes from our luxury products in the first year of operations itself. The overall luxury segment will contribute over 20 per cent to the targeted turnover of Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion)," said H&R Johnson India managing director Vijay Aggarwal. H&R Johnson India, the country's leading tile maker has recently entered into a tie-up with the premium sanitaryware brand Twyford to market its products in the country. The market size for sanitaryware and bathroom solutions within India is estimated to be Rs 2,500 crore. Out of which the the branded segment accounts for a larger share of 55 per cent and is growing at a rate of 20 per cent whereas the market share of the non-branded segment has shrunk to a 45 per cent growing at lesser pace of 8 to 9 per cent.

Courtesy: www.rediff.com, August 01, 2007

Back to Index