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17
Retail Players Among Top 500
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The
Indian retail industry has finally come
of age with seventeen Indian players finding
a mention in the 'Top 500 Retail Asia-Pacific
Rankings 2005' report published by Retail
Asia magazine. China with 87 companies
is in the top 500. It not only heads the
list, but has also overtaken Japan, which
had 72 companies in the list. Korea and
Taiwan come next with 48 companies each,
followed by Australia (40), Hong Kong
(38) and Singapore (31). According to
the report, Japan dominated in terms of
overall sales and also had the highest
retail sales per capita. But, India and
China were both gaining ground, with far
higher and sustained growth over the past
few years. The Indian economy grew at
8 per cent last year and consumer spending
has been increasing by 11 per cent over
the past decade. The combined effect was
a 29 per cent surge in the retail sales
growth for the Indian retailers in the
top 500 list, the report said. The Indian
economy was one of the fastest-growing
in the world and the retail sector contributed
to 10 per cent of India's GDP and 6 per
cent of its employment, the survey said.
The survey has estimated the Indian retail
industry to be worth around US $286 billion.
Overall, the retail industry is expected
to grow at around 8 per cent between 2003
and 2008. The report further added that
India had a large pool of labour-estimated
at around 487 million. "Labour costs are
among the lowest in the region. As modern
retailing is just emerging, retailers
entering India need to invest in the training
of resources," the report said. "According
to our survey, the annual growth of department
stores has been estimated at 24 per cent,
which is faster than overall retail, and
supermarkets have taken an increased share
of general food and grocery trade over
the last two decades," he added.
Courtesy:
Business Standard, October 25, 2005
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The
world's largest steel producer, Mittal
Steel Co., bought Ukraine's flagship steel
plant Kryvorizhstal for more than $4.8
billion. The high-stakes auction had been
a campaign promise of President Viktor
Yushchenko, part of his bid to prove to
investors that the former Soviet republic
is committed to transparency and open
for foreign investment. Yushchenko was
there to watch.
Courtesy:
The Pioneer, October 25, 2005
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ECL
Inks Mining Pact With UK Company
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Eastern
Coalfields Ltd (ECL), a subsidiary of
Coal India Ltd (CIL), has entered into
a contract mining agreement with Joy Mining
of the UK for the production of high-grade
non-coking coal by introducing `continuous
miners' equipment. As per the terms of
the agreement, the UK company will produce
0.42 million tonnes (mt) of coal per annum
on risk/gain sharing basis for the Jhanjra
underground project in Raniganj coalfield.
The Rs 65-crore agreement was signed in
New Delhi by the ECL Chairman and Managing
Director, Mr D. Chakravarty, and the Joy
Mining Managing Director, Mr Simon Pickup,
in the presence of the Union Coal Secretary,
Mr P.C. Parekh. The contract will initially
be for Jhanjra but such equipment will
also be introduced in other underground
mines such as Khottadih and Sarpi for
higher production, productivity, and safety.
Mr Chakravarty told Business Line that
`continuous miners' equipment would boost
underground coal production in ECL, which
is considered an important step for the
company to come out of the purview of
the Board for Industrial and Financial
Reconstruction (BIFR). It has plans to
increase total production to the level
of about 44 mt in 2009-10 from about 27
mt in 2004-05 to be able to come out of
BIFR purview.
Courtesy:
The Hindu Business Line, October 25, 2005
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Ericsson
to Set up R&D Unit
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Ericsson,
the Swedish telecom equipment giant, today
announced its intention to set up a research
and development (R&D) centre in Chennai,
a global services delivery centre (GSDC)
in New Delhi and upgrade its GSM radio
base station manufacturing facility in
Rajasthan. The company is also looking
at increasing headcount in the country.
The company, however, did not disclose
financial details of the investments,
but said it will be investing "hundreds
of millions of dollars" every year in
the country. At present, Ericsson is investing
over $1 million a year for developing
the market, R&D and its operations in
the country. "India is one of the most
exciting markets in the world. We see
immense potential in this region, including
an acceleration in demand for services,
and are committed to partner with India
in its growth," Carl-Henric Svanberg,
chief executive officer, told reporters
here today. The company's new R&D centre
in Chennai will conduct research in cutting
edge technologies such as service layer
and value-added services (VAS) among others,
while the GSDC in Gurgaon will strengthen
its managed services offering in India.
India is the second largest mobile market
in the world, second only to China, with
about 2.5 million new users being added
every month. The industry expects that
there would be around 200 million mobile
subscribers and 10 million broadband users
in the country by 2007, and these initiatives
bank on growth prospects of the country.
The company is also looking at increasing
its headcount. At present, Ericsson has
around 1,000 employees on its rolls and
over 3,000 people through partners and
channel firms.
Courtesy:
Business Standard, October 25, 2005
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I-Vista
Bags One Million Euro Order
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I-Vista
Digital Solutions, a Bangalore-based connected
enterprise products company, has bagged
one million euro order from the Netherlands
to develop two software products in outsourced
product development by the end of 2006.
The contract for the two products - Video
over IP Security Portal for Innovista
and Total Performance Score Card for Human
Capital Performance Management - would
be on "build, own, operate and transfer"
basis, says the founder and CEO of I-Vista,
Narayan Rajan.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 25, 2005
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Indian
Leather Goods Whip Overseas Competition
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Leather
goods from India are fast becoming international
favourites beating competition from global
players. According to a recent PHDCCI
analysis, leather goods exports touched
US$ 2.3 billion during 2004-05, clocking
over 6 per cent growth over the same period
in the previous fiscal. The industry has
also found new markets in Asia, Europe
and the Americas. Around 15 years back,
leather goods makers primarily catered
to eastern block countries. More importantly,
these goods have been able to find a toehold
in countries like Croatia, Slovakia, Cyprus,
Serbia, Dominican Republic and so on where
they had no presence until last year.
Asean countries, too, have emerged as
one of the largest importers of Indian
finished leather goods, with Vietnam alone
importing worth goods $23 million during
fiscal 2004-05.
Courtesy:
The Financial Express: October 25, 2005
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M&M
Close to Cracking Romanian Tractor Deal
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Finally,
the deal for acquiring Romanian tractor
major Universal Tractors, for which M&M
vice-chairman Anand Mahindra has been
keeping his fingers crossed, seems to
be materialising. According to sources
close to the development, M&M has succeeded
in tilting the balance in its favour in
the ongoing negotiations for the European
tractor company owned by the Romanian
government. Sources add, "Negotiations
have reached a advanced stage and a final
deal is expected to be signed sometime
in late November or early December."The
auto major is negotiating with the government
of Romania to buy out 80 per cent of its
stake in SC Tractorul UTB SA, which owns
the popular European tractor brand Universal
in Romania. M&M is competing with MYO-O,
a closely-held Romanian maker of agricultural
machinery. The Romanian government had
put up Universal for sale after Italy's
Landini decided against buying the company.
If M&M succeeds in buying out Universal,
it will give a major fillip to its expansion
plans in the European market. The Brasov
plant has a capacity to produce 16,000
tractors per year with an additional capacity
of producing 18,000 engines per year.
The bid for the Romanian tractor company
attains significance considering that
this is M&M's second attempt to dig its
heels deeper in Europe.
Courtesy:
The Asian Age, October 25, 2005
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Bank
of India in Pact With Philips
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Bank
of India and Philips Electronics India
(PEIL) have signed a memorandum of understanding
under which Bank of India will offer personal
loans for individuals intending to buy
consumer products manufactured/marketed
by PEIL, according to a release.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 25, 2005
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Record
Rise in Number of FIIs Registered With
Sebi
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Even
as foreign institutional investors (FIIs)
turned net sellers in the equity market
in October (net outflow of US$ 341 million),
the number of FIIs registered with the
Securities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) touched a record high of 800 on
Friday. FIIs from newer geographical locations
are also seeking registration with Sebi.
The first Malaysian institutional investor
CMS Premier Fund, a mutual fund, registered
with Sebi last week. Andrew Holland, vice-president,
DSP Merrill Lynch, said, "India is a familiar
market for institutional players from
traditional destinations like the USA,
the UK and other American and European
countries. But it is good news that South
East Asian countries like Malaysia are
also showing interest in investing in
India." Last week Sebi chairman M Damodaran
had said it was important that investors
from new locations should come to India
and invest in the Indian capital market.
"I will not be cheered if some 30-40 FIIs
from UK or USA register in India. But
when some institutional investors register
here from a new location, it clearly shows
that foreign interest in India is on the
rise", he said. The number of FIIs registered
with Sebi has almost doubled in the last
five years. In 2001, there were 482 foreign
investors registered with Sebi. The number
increased to 489 in 2002 and to 517 and
637 in 2003 and 2004 respectively. With
the increase in the number of FIIs, the
number of sub-accounts registered with
FIIs has also hit an all-time high. According
to informed sources, the number of FII
sub-accounts has reached 2,500.
Courtesy:
The Financial Express: October 24, 2005
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India
is "One-Stop Shop" For Retailers And Apparel
Companies
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India
has now become the second most preferred
alternative after China in textiles and
emerged as a "one-stop shop" for retailers
and apparel companies looking for a reliable
destination for their sourcing solutions,
a CII study has said. After dismantling
of quotas in textiles from this calendar
year, South Asia holds 14 per cent and
9 per cent share in US and European markets
respectively and is expected to be major
gainer of safeguards on China with India
soon leading the race, the study on textiles
by CII-KSA Technopak said. The study pointed
out the advantages of India over China
namely easy availability of raw material,
spinning, weaving and garmenting capabilities.
China has a growing domestic market, which
consumes seven per cent of the total textile
production. Chinese buyers too are not
keen on making China a one-stop sourcing
destination for textiles due to the uncertainties
arising out of the safeguards, quotas
and revaluation of Yuan, it said. Indian
still needs to improve on the economic
and infrastructure fronts. It needs to
improve its labour laws, develop world
class infrastructure and build international
scale of operations, CII said. Buyers
and suppliers will have to adapt to more
drastic changes in future trade as compared
to the first phase of the post-quota regime,
the study said. The chamber also listed
out various issues plaguing China's trade
like imposition of specified quotas on
China by the European Union for three
years in certain clothing categories.
Courtesy:
sify.com, October 24, 2005
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India
Becoming Major FDI Destination
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India
might have received just over US$ 5 billion
as Foreign Direct Investment as compared
to China's over US$ 60 billion in 2004,
but none can deny the fact that it is
becoming a hot favourite for FDI with
India ranked as the third most attractive
global business location, next only to
China and United States. Transnational
companies see India as second most attractive
business location next only to China.
This ranking has been done by none other
than UNCTAD, which did a survey in this
regard. The outcome of the survey has
been published in UNCTAD's World Investment
Report for 2005. This is a significant
development but at the same time an eye
opener for the government that it should
hasten the process of opening up to cash-in
on the huge opportunity. Multinationals
are clearly waiting in their wings to
invest in a big way. Already there are
signs in the country with South Korean
steel major Posco signing an MoU with
Orissa government to set up a $ 12 billion
steel plant and NRI steel tycoon, Mr Laxmi
Mittal inking an agreement with Jharkand
government to set up $ 10 billion steel
plant. India being the fourth largest
economy in the world with a Gross Domestic
Product of $ 800 billion and consistent
growth performances and abundant skilled
manpower provides enormous opportunities
for investment both domestic and foreign.
Courtesy:
The Navhind Times, October 24, 2005
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Exim
Bank Signs MoU With ICO of Spain
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The
Export-Import Bank of India has signed
a memorandum of understanding with the
Instituto de Credito Oficial of Spain,
to promote trade between the two countries.
The MoU seeks to increase the presence
of Indian companies in Spain and that
of Spanish companies in India, by creating
appropriate institutional mechanisms.
The Instituto de Credito Oficial, Spain,
is the apex institution in Spain which
provides, inter alia, medium and long-term
loans aimed at financing real investments
by Spanish enterprises, both in domestic
market as well as overseas. The MoU was
signed by T.C. Venkat Subramanian, Chairman
and Managing Director, Exim Bank of India,
and Federico Ferrer, Managing Director
for International Relations, ICO. In his
address, Subramanian, said in the last
five years, India's total trade with Spain
has doubled from $805 million in 2000-01
to $1.7 billion in 2004-05. Besides facilitating
increased bilateral trade flows, there
is also potential for co-financing of
business projects, both in India and Spain,
said Subramanian.
Courtesy:
sify.com, October 24, 2005
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Confidence
of US, Chinese Executives Down, Indian
CEOs Upbeat
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The
confidence of executives in the US and
China in their economy plummeted over
the past three months, while Indian CEOs
are upbeat about the country's economy,
according to a McKinsey survey. As per
the latest McKinsey Global Survey of Business
Executives, US CEOs registered a confidence
level of 44 on current economic conditions
versus those six months ago. ''This is
the lowest since we began measuring it
18 months ago and the lowest of any group
of executives in the world,'' McKinsey
said, pointing out that the corresponding
figure in the March survey was 59. Meanwhile,
executives from India, whose position
changed little over this period, remained
more confident about their national economy
than are CEOs anywhere else in the world,
it said. Indian CEOs are more upbeat than
others about the effects of globalisation
on their businesses but less confident
of their ability to find suitable talent.
Most Indian executives think that globalisation,
increasing affluence in emerging markets,
and other worldwide trends will enhance
the profits of their companies, McKinsey
added. India is looking to the United
States for much of the expected growth
and virtually ignoring China. After the
shortage of talent, Indian executives
say that their biggest challenge is increased
competition. Respondents from China and
other developing markets (with the exception
of India) also grew significantly less
confident about their national economies
over the past six months, down from 66
in March to 54 in the current survey.
Finally, global executives have changed
their hiring plans little in the past
three months. As many 36 per cent say
that they will increase their company's
workforce. Smaller companies are the most
likely to be adding employees, while the
largest are more likely to decrease their
workforce.
Courtesy:
webindia123.com, October 24, 2005
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Infy
Plans Mega Software Campus
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Infosys
Technologies Ltd plans to set up a software
development centre in Karnataka, which
will generate employment for 25,000 people
and also establish residential facilities
and essential amenities such as schools
and hospital at a total investment of
Rs 1,500 crore in the first phase. The
NASDAQ-listed software major has requested
the Karnataka Industrial Area Development
Board for 845 acres of land, sought by
the firm, after securing zoning requirements
from the Government and complying with
the law. The land has been sought as two
different plots. On one plot of land,
a software development centre will be
set up, which will generate employment
for 25,000 people. The second plot is
being sought, a short distance away, to
provide residential facilities for the
company's employees and to set up essential
amenities like school and hospital.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, October 22, 2005
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Milk
Procurement Sees 15% Growth
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The
growth in milk procurement crossed 20m
kg a day for the first time in '04-05,
registering an increase of 15% over the
previous year. But poor marketing by smaller
state co-operatives, in the face of increasing
aggression from bigger players could push
up liquid milk sales in the year by barely
5.1%, the National Dairy Development Board
(NDDB) has said. Co-operative milk sales
grew from 14.9m litres a day in '03-04
to 15.6m litres a day in '04-05, the Board
said in its annual report for '04-05.
The combined business turnover of all
dairy co-operatives in the country reached
Rs 11,000 crore in '04-05. Dairy co-operatives
in states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nadu marketed more than a million litres
of milk a day, a growth exceeding 10%.
Amongst other states selling more than
0.1m litres a day, Haryana and Orissa
also registered impressive growth. "Healthy
competition is good. Competition - even
between co-operatives - can increase efficiency
and better serve consumers. But the smaller
state co-operatives must strive vigorously
to ensure that they can and do compete
in the market place," NDDB said in its
report. The annual report mentions that
in recent years, the largest co-operative
brand, Amul, has moved beyond national
milk products marketing by aggressively
entering local liquid milk markets, the
core business of most other co-operatives.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, October 22, 2005
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Sony
to Tap India's Software Skill
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Struggling
electronics and entertainment group Sony
plans to tap India's skills to develop
more software for products and use its
popular content to expand its Indian market
share, its chief executive said on Friday.
Sony Corp. which said last month it would
cut about 7 percent of its global work
force, has a software centre in Bangalore
that develops technologies for home networks,
digital media platforms and Internet-enabled
consumer electronic devices. "We're in
a ghastly phase of reconstruction ...
we are closing plants and laying off people,"
Stringer told reporters at a news conference
in Mumbai. "We have to find a way to get
our arms around software development,
but give us some time to think about what
we want to do in India." Sony lags its
nimbler Korean rivals, Samsung Electronics
and LG Electronics and Chinese new entrant
Haier which are all investing heavily
in manufacturing and resarch and development
facilities in India. Sony Ericsson, the
world's fifth-largest mobile phone maker
jointly owned with Sweden's Ericsson,
said earlier this year it was looking
at setting up a facility to make phones
in India -- the world's fastest-growing
major mobile market. Sony also operates
India's number two cable network, Sony
Entertainment Television, which broadcasts
three channels of Hindi-language entertainment,
besides cricket. "Our content here has
been so successful, perhaps more than
anywhere else in the world outside the
United States," Stringer said. "It is
my hope our content here will also drive
sales of our hardware." "But we don't
like being number two and chasing Murdoch,"
Stringer said, referring to Star, the
leading network in India which is owned
by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Film studio
and distributor Sony Pictures on Thursday
signed a co-production deal with director
Sanjay Leela Bhansali for his film 'Saawariya'
(Beloved), Sony's first Indian film deal.
India's "Bollywood" is the most prolific
popular film industry in the world, making
nearly 1,000 films a year. India's entertainment
industry revenue is expected to more than
double to 295 billion rupees ($6.6 billion)
by 2009, according to estimates by PriceWaterHouseCoopers.
"India is important, and we see that in
the abundance of chief executives visiting,"
he said. "I am not just passing through."
Courtesy:
Economic Times, October 21, 2005
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India's
Jan-Aug Tea Output Rises by 8%
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Tea
production in India, the world's largest
producer, rose 8 per cent to 533 million
kgs between January and August from 493
million kgs in the same period a year
ago, the state-run Tea Board said on Friday.
It said tea output grew because of favourable
weather conditions in West Bengal and
Assam, which account for almost 80 per
cent of India's production. India's tea
production in the year to March 2005 fell
2.3 per cent to 830.92 million kg from
850.70 million a year before. Tea Board
officials said exports in January-August
fell to 103.5 million kgs from 121.8 million
in the same period of 2004. Exports have
been falling since May, primarily due
to lower demand for Indian tea in the
traditional markets of Russia and the
Commonwealth of Independent States countries,
officials say. Dogged by labour trouble
and falling international prices, the
Indian industry faces a tough challenge
from Sri Lankan and Kenyan producers eating
into its traditional markets. Leading
Indian tea companies include Tata Tea
Ltd and Hindustan Lever Ltd, majority
owned by Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, October 21, 2005
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Car
Exports Zoom 15 Per Cent in First Half
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Surpassing
the 7 per cent growth in domestic market,
exports of passenger cars from India went
up by 15 per cent in the first half of
the financial year 2005-06 to 87,463 units,
up from 76,061 units in the first half
of the previous fiscal. The surprise package
was the growth in exports of Tata Motors,
which shot up to 9,360 units in the first
half of 2005-06, as against 1,438 units
in the same period last year. Though in
volume terms this surge may not be huge,
it assumes significance as it comes after
the call-off of the export arrangement
Tata Motors had with MG Rover of UK, after
the latter announced bankruptcy. The contract
was for one lakh units of Indica badged
City Rover for a period of five years
starting 2002, although the exports fell
much below the targets. In the last fiscal,
Tata Motors entered new markets like South
Africa and Turkey in a big way which is
helping it rake in volumes, according
to industry insiders. With the proposed
tie-up with Fiat SpA, Italy, that could
give the company acccess to Fiat's international
sales and services network, exports are
expected to shoot up further. Hyundai
Motor India, which is using its Indian
base as the export hub, moved 51,698 cars
in the first half of the fiscal, posting
a 37% growth, compared to 37,497 units
sold last year. In fact, the company commemorated
the exporting of 2 lakh vehicles so far,
from its Indian facility, this week. Market
leader Maruti's exports however slipped
22% to 18,241 units from 23,396 units
in the corresponding period last year.
Courtesy:
The Financial Express: October 21, 2005
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India
to be "Key Player" in KPO
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After
the success story of business process
outsourcing (BPO), India will emerge as
a "key player" in the knowledge process
offshoring space considering its large
base of talented professionals, according
to global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC). "India will be a key player on
KPO supply side, as it is a country with
a large base of highly qualified professionals,"
PwC Executive Director Joydeep Datta Gupta
said unveiling the report 'Global Integration
through KPO'. "Ageing workforce in the
western world and the consequent shortage
of professional skills in the future will
be the key drivers for the inclusion of
Indian talent," he said. The report also
lists India's evolution as an offshore
knowledge-hub by analysing the 15 key
industry verticals namely software product
development, Pharma R&D, legal services,
writing and content development. As per
the PwC projection, a law firm in India
could be offering services to their counterparts
in US in the days to come, a Pharma research
team offering very specialised services
to global markets and a mathematical tutor
in India providing tuition to American
children over the Internet. For each specific
sector, the report highlights the features
of KPO that distinguish it from a BPO.
KPO is not an extension of BPO as the
premise of a KPO is to include into a
global delivery team, the requisite skills
that support an organisation's core processes,
PwC said. While KPO is driven by the depth
of knowledge, experience and judgment;
BPOs in contrast are more about size,
volume and efficiency, the report said.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Time, October 20, 2005
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Wipro
Announces Centre in Eastern Europe
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IT
major Wipro Limited, the country's third
largest software exporter, today announced
that it would open a near shore centre
in Eastern Europe. "The new facility is
expected to expand Wipro's language capabilities
for Voice, Transaction Processing and
L1/L2 support for Infrastructure Management,"
the Bangalore-based, New York Stock Exchange-listed
company said in a release
Courtesy:
sify.com, October 20, 2005
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India's
largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy
Services Ltd., said on Thursday it had
acquired Sydney-based Financial Network
Services (FNS) for US$ 26 million to strengthen
its offering for the banking industry.
The acquisition would help add 115 banks
spread over 35 countries as new clients,
TCS said in a statement. FNS's clients
are mostly Tier I and Tier II companies
in the emerging markets of Europe, Asia,
Australia and Africa, it said. "It will
... enhance the range of TCS' asset-based
solutions for the banking industry besides
giving us a number of new global banking
customers," S. Ramadorai, TCS' chief executive
and managing director, said. TCS shares
climbed 1.8 percent to 1,428 rupees ($31.6)
in a firm early Mumbai market. State Bank
of India, India's largest bank, was one
of three leading Indian clients for FNS,
TCS said. TCS had earlier this week said
it would take over claims processing from
British insurer and pension firm Pearl
Group, that would generate $848 million
in revenue over the next 12 years.
Courtesy:
The Financial Express, October 20, 2005
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Satyam
Among Asia's Best Firms, Says Forbes
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Malaysian
budget carrier AirAsia, Singapore water
treatment firm Hyflux, Philippine fastfood
giant Jollibee and India's Satyam Computer
are among Asia's best for companies with
annual revenues under $1 billion, Forbes
Asia magazine said on Thursday. Japan
led this year's list with 38 winners,
followed by Australia with 25 companies,
Forbes said in a statement naming the
200 best Asian firms with earnings of
under $1 billion a year. Hong Kong and
Taiwan tied for third place with 22 each.
India trailed at fourth place with 20,
beating China which had 11 companies in
the elite list -- the same as Singapore
and Thailand. Malaysia had 10 companies,
while Indonesia, Pakistan and South Korea
had seven each and New Zealand had six.
Sri Lanka had two companies on the list,
ahead of the Philippines which had only
one. "Many of the companies in this year's
list come from fast growing industries
such as drugs, chemical and maritime sectors,"
Forbes Asia said in a statement. Companies
on the list must have revenues under $1
billion a year and five-year returns on
capital of at last five per cent. They
are judged by sustained gains in sales,
return on equity and earnings, it added.
Fifty-one companies which made it in 2004
were named again this year, while India's
Essel Propack and Zee Telefilms are on
the "Forbes Best Under A Billion" list
for three consecutive years. Apart from
Hyflux, Singapore companies that made
it to the list include lifestyle firm
Osim, which gained fame for its massage
chairs, and luxury timepiece retailer
Sincere Watch. Hong Kong's Wheelock, Cafe
de Coral and Kingboard Chemical also made
it to the list, as did India's Asian Paints
and HDFC Bank. Thailand was represented
by Central Pattana, GMM Grammy and Thai
Carbon Black Public, while China had Sino
Biopharmaceutical, Tsingtao Brewery and
Shanghai Shi Mao. Japan's champions included
Park24, Trend Micro and Square Enix, while
Australia's winners included Timbercorp
and Cochlear. Taiwan had Giant Manufacturing
and U-Ming Marine Transport, and Indonesia
had Enseval Putera Megatrading and Ramayana
Lestari Sentosa. New Zealand's Sky City
Entertainment was also among the winners.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, October 20, 2005
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Indian
IT bigwigs are finally rubbing shoulders
with global tech majors. TCS, Infosys
and Wipro have just marched into the UK's
top 10 fastest growing IT services companies
club. The three-offshoring majors have
also broached the top 50 in terms of actual
size. Analysts like Ovum (largest European
IT services advisor) are now predicting
that they will break into the UK top 10
IT service providers league in five years.
Riding on the mega multi-million dollar
deals including those from recent ABN
Amro and Pearl Group, Indian IT majors
are seeing growth of over 30%. By 2010,
at least one Indian name will feature
in the UK top 10 ranking of IT services
players, confirm Ovum analysts in their
latest market report. While Infosys UK
business saw a growth of 40% in 2004,
both Wipro and TCS grew by over 30%. The
growth currently coming from their organic
initiative can go up further if they plan
any acquisitions in the UK, says Ovum
study. Indian IT firms, seem to believe
that their big break into the top league
will come orders like Pearl Group and
ABN Amro. Deals like ABN Amro indicate
that large offshore players like us have
a competitive business model to deliver
large, global, multi-year contracts, says
Infosys CEO, Kris Gopalakrishnan. We now
have the size and managerial capability
to take over people from clients on their
rolls, which is a part of a large number
of outsourcing deals in US and UK, explains
TCS CFO, Mahalingham. TCS has just won
an order boasting of largest people transfer
seen by any Indian IT firm.
Courtesy:
www.financialexpress.com, October 20,
2005
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India
Bags Cisco's $1.1 bn-Deal
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Cisco
Systems Inc., the world's largest Internet
equipment maker, plans to invest $1.1
billion in India over the next three years,
its president said on Wednesday, marking
its largest investment outside the United
States. John Chambers said Cisco, employing
1,400 people in India now, also plans
to triple its staff in India over that
period, including its own staff and outsourced
engineers working on research and development
at other firms. India, with its low-cost
English-speaking workforce, is fast becoming
an investment magnet as many of its industries
grow at double-digit rates. Asia's third-largest
economy expanded by an annual 8.1 percent
in the first quarter to June, the fastest
for more than a year. Cisco is forecasting
30 percent annual growth in Indian revenue
in the next three years, and said it will
consider setting up a manufacturing plant,
reinforcing its bullishness about the
growth prospects of the world's 10th-largest
economy. "India has rapidly risen to become
a major force in the global economy,"
Chambers, on a three-day | |
