• TCS to design, implement tax system in Uganda
• Indian ayurveda major opens centres in Britain
• India seeks Israeli technology to boost litchi output
• India proposing investment regions, townships for IT industry
• India aims 124 mn tonnes steel output by 2012
• 3 Indian cities among world's top centres of commerce
• Future Tree plans to invest Rs 100 cr on schools by '09
• India, fourth most attractive business location
• Orissa firm eyes coal mines in Mozambique
• A 'green' tax in India!
• Job generation: India's top 5 states

• South Africa: Investors Waking Up to the Force of India Rising
• Anil Ambani group launches FM station in Singapore
• Tarang Software forays into Saudi Arabia
• India world's most optimistic nation for hiring: study
• Tata Consultancy Services launches five point plan for effective -Governance in India
• Cement makers shun Chinese machineries
• M&M acquires Engines Engineering
• Pantaloon forms JV with French firm
• $60 mn trade target with China to be met: India
• With monsoon, Kerala health rresorts woo tourists with ayurveda

OVER the past decade, India has moved relentlessly towards claiming its place as one of the world's most powerful nations. Amid the cacophony that represents Indian politics, India's rulers have slowly but surely put together a fabric that allows business to prosper. There has been a gradual opening up of the economy in key sectors and today, tangible evidence of reforms can be seen in the financial sector, consumer sector and the telecommunications industry, among other arenas. Never before has international big businesses been quite as interested in India as an investment destination, and for very good reason. A giant landmass making up the bulk of an entire subcontinent, India is a country in which 1,2-billion people -- of different languages, cultures and just about every religion on the planet -- miraculously live together in relative peace and harmony, despite some deep schisms and fault lines emanating from those differences . This melting pot of cultures has resulted in the country walking a tightrope amid the coalition politics that have kept the current government in power and still managed to bring about transformation. Economic and demographic statistics make the picture very intriguing: India has the fourth-largest economy after the US, China and Japan. India is one of only 10 countries with a gross domestic product (GDP) of over $1-trillion. At its current rate of growth, the Indian economy will add nearly one France every three-and-a-half years and one Australia every year. The middle-income category is currently 50-million strong. The number of middle class people is expected to reach 583-million by 2025.

One percent of the hitherto low-income group has been shifting into the middle class every year for the past 10 years. In pure numbers, this is the largest segment of the population, of around 40 million people annually. India has the highest growth rate of dollar millionaires and billionaires, yet 25% of people earn below $1 a day. India's economy has grown 8% a year in the past decade. Although India's employment numbers are very high, so is its unemployment rate. India is such an interesting investment prospect because of four very powerful themes, which have underpinned growth: Outsourcing and information technology. These already make up more than 20% of the GDP and are growing at a faster rate than the overall economy. Consumption. Feeding and selling ordinary daily essentials to a 500-million-plus consumer base is a lucrative business. Infrastructure. Meeting the challenges of growth in this country is a huge task. Already an estimated $1-trillion is being proposed for spending in the next five years. Financial products: A huge opportunity in an increasingly urbane population, which, as matters stand, has only 5% of national savings in financial markets. Most notably, information technology in India has successfully moved up the value chain. Whereas it was once a mere labour cost arbitrage-driven outsourcing business, today it is a highly acclaimed treasure house of intellectual capital. Ironically, this IT-led surge and increasing liberalisation have forced the historically lagging public sector companies -- with their much-maligned bureaucracies and inefficiencies -- to wake up and start to make dramatic changes. This is a unique transformation, in which the public sector, instead of withering away as predicted, has become stronger and proved itself to be an able competitor to the private sector. State-owned behemoths such as the State Bank of India, the Life Insurance Corporation of India, ICICI Bank, the Steel Authority of India and the Oil & Natural Gas Commission, among others, have shaken off their historical images and confounded their critics by capitalising on opportunities available to them to become powerhouses in their respective arenas. India has historically, thanks to its post-independence state-subsidised education focus, produced surplus labour. This has changed and, for the first time, Indian businesses are now beginning to face a skills shortage. Long criticised for its failure to curb population growth, suddenly its young population is being hailed as its biggest advantage. India is therefore in the midst of a transformation few nations have managed. A sharply divided and highly politicised country with significant polarisation and populism set amid a long-suffering and largely "unconscious" electorate can be fraught with pitfalls. There are bound to be disappointments in the pace and quality of some of the reforms. But India has become a relentless force with awe-inspiring momentum. The energy and enthusiasm of the citizenry in India will pave the way for sustained growth and development. India is poised to become the most important economy in our lifetime and Indian-owned businesses are set to dominate the world markets. Admittedly, the jury is still out on where it will all finally lead to. But never in the history of modern times has such a story unfolded, and big business cannot afford to remain a bystander. "Go east" should be our mantra.

Courtesy: www.allafrica.com, June 30, 2008

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Information technology major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has bagged a contract from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to design and install an integrated tax administration system in that country. The $11.5-million project is being funded by the UK government's Department for International Development (DFID), the Netherlands, Belgium and Uganda. The new system will manage all domestic taxes and duties for URA, including income-tax, value-added tax, withholding taxes and other excise duties. 'The new system will reduce IT and operational costs and processing cycle times, while improving fiscal transparency and financial accountability,' TCS chief operating officer and executive director N. Chandrasekaran said. The system will also have round-the-clock citizen portal which will bring about transparency to tax administration. 'This will allow taxpayers online access to all information pertaining to tax administration. They will be able to submit forms online, track application status and make electronic payment,' said TCS vice president and head of global government unit Tanmoy Chakrabarty.

Courtesy: www.indiaenews.com, June 24, 2008

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Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) Tuesday launched an FM radio station in Singapore that will broadcast Indian film music, news and other trivia in a joint venture with a local station - MediaCorp Radio. The station has been named Big Bollywood 96.3 FM and will broadcast programmes between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. 'Singapore has a very large Indian diaspora. In fact Indians account for almost eight percent of the total population here,' Tarun Katial, chief operating officer of Anil Ambani group's Big 92.7 FM said. 'We have launched this channel to cater to the needs of these people,' Katial told IANS on phone from Singapore. He said similar projects were also being planned in the US, Middle East and Britain. In India, the Anil Ambani group runs Big 92.7 FM radio station and the entry into Singapore is another major overseas foray for the group after it decided to join hands with eight major Hollywood production houses last month to make movies. 'We see this collaboration as a great opportunity to improve relations with the country as well as profitable in the sense that it will provide us with a window for international expansion,' the Big FM executive explained. He, however, did not want to go into the investment the group intends to make. 'It is not about the investment. For us it is more important to broadcast the right content and to tap the potential that exists in the market here.' The radio jockeys of the station will be Indians who live in Singapore, he said, and added that the broadcast will be done using MediaCorp studios. MediaCorp Radio operates 13 local FM stations, of which six are in English, three cater to the Chinese, two to Malays and one each for Indians and the cosmopolitan listeners.

Courtesy: www.indiaenews.com, June 24, 2008

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Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine, is fast gaining popularity in the UK with Indian companies setting up treatment centres here. A Kerala-style "panchkarma" treatment centre opened by the India-based Santhigram company in Milton Keynes earlier this year has proved to be a success. The company has now opened another centre in Southall, which has a large population of Indian origin. Alternative medicine and healing therapies have a large market in Britain. Yoga-based courses run by groups such as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation are popular with local groups meeting regularly across Britain. Santhigrams centre in Southall was opened this week by Virendra Sharma, the Labour MP for Southall Ealing. Sharma acknowledged the usefulness of alternative systems of medicines in the present healthcare scenario and wished Santhigram all success in its endeavour to spread authentic ayurvedic therapies in the United Kingdom. Gopinathan Nair, chairman of the company, unfolded a plan to set up a series of such centres across Britain in the near future. Gregory Pius, managing director of the Santhigram Kerala Ayurvedic Centre, who heads the companys UK venture, said two more centres would be opened at Hayes and Liverpool in the next two months. The companys centres in Milton Keynes and Southall are manned by qualified and experienced ayurvedic consultants and panchkarma therapists.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, June 20, 2008

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Tarang Software Technologies, a leading provider of point of sale (PoS) and mobile payment solutions, Thursday announced that it has acquired Saudi Arabia-based software major Intersoft. Headquartered in Riyadh, Intersoft is a specialised provider of PoS solutions, a fully integrated software package for retailers, and has branches spread all over the Middle East. Earlier, Intersoft had partnered with Tarang to develop several mobile payment solutions in Saudi Arabia. Tarang founder and CEO V. Rama Kumar said with this customer acquisition, the company would be able to enter not just into the Middle Eastern market but also the European market.

Courtesy: www.indiaenews.com, June 19, 2008

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India is eyeing Israeli technology to increase the life span of the litchi fruit after searing heat destroyed much of the crops in Bihar, which accounts for 70 percent of domestic production. 'Israel has got the technology that will help litchi growers as well as those engaged in its marketing to earn lucrative prices,' K.K. Kumar, director of the National Research Centre for Litchi at Muzaffarpur, told IANS. Israel, Kumar said over telephone, had an innovative technology to keep perishable fruits like litchi fresh for at least 28 days. 'Access to this technology will manifold increase earnings.' According to him, the Indian agriculture ministry plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with Israel. Experts say that the agro-climatic condition of Bihar is ideal for litchi, a huge popular fruit in summer. The number of farmers in the state growing litchis has increased in the last decade, especially in Muzaffarpur district, 70 km away, and neighbouring areas along the river Gandak. Kumar said that lichi production this year had been badly hit by high temperatures, followed immediately by rains. Farmers and exporters have all been hit. 'Inclement weather conditions and a fall in the water table have affected litchi cultivation,' he said. 'Many farmers went for pre-mature harvesting to lessen the losses.' Exporters too were hit hard. Last year, a record 100 tonnes of litchi was exported. This year, this would not come to even half the quantity. The quality of litchi fruit has also suffered. Many have turned sour. The export quality litchis are to be delicious and should have the diameter of six cm. Bihar's lone exporter of litchi, Raj Kumar Kedia, said that 40 percent of the fruit had been destroyed by the excessive heat in April, followed by the rains. 'The fruit has been damaged and its quality is not fit for export,' he said. Bhola Nath Jha, a litchi farmer, said that bad weather had derailed litchi cultivation. All this has led those in the litchi industry to look at Israeli technology. Countries that import Indian litchi include the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Canada, Russia and Yemen.

Courtesy: www.indiaenews.com, June 12, 2008

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India has emerged as the most optimistic nation in terms of hiring intentions across the world, but going forward the employment outlook seems challenging, global staffing services firm Manpower said. "While employers in India continue to show optimism in their hiring intent, the impact of US slowdown has started showing its impact," Manpower India Managing Director Naresh Malhan said while releasing the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Malhan further noted that "future trends would be challenging and the October to December quarter would be a testing time largely due to rising crude oil prices." India is expected to report the most bullish hiring plans in the July-September period, followed by Singapore and Peru as the global slowdown impacted the hiring intentions in these countries, he said. India has made a gradual upward movement since the last two quarters, as in the Manpower March quarter survey the country was at the second position while in the December quarter it held the third spot. Of the 5,636 employers surveyed, 45 per cent expect an increase in hiring activity in the third quarter of 2008, an increase of 6 per cent on a quarterly basis and 7 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The other top 10 most bullish nations worldwide include Poland (29 per cent), Costarica (27 per cent), Romania (26 per cent), Hong Kong (26 per cent), Argentina (25 per cent), Taiwan (24 per cent), Australia (23 per cent). "We believe the growth story of developing nations like India to remain firm as companies continue to invest in technology to drive their growth, fight global competition, cut cost and improve efficiencies and is reflective in their mood to hire despite the slump," Malhan said. Employers in all eight countries and territories surveyed across the Asia Pacific region anticipate positive hiring activity for the third quarter. Employers in India and Singapore are the most optimistic while companies in China and New Zealand reported the weakest forecast in the region. "China and India are at a different footing altogether. While China is a export oriented economy, India's economy is largely based on its own consumption, hence the difference in their hiring intentions," Malhan said. According to the survey, China reported the weakest hiring outlook in the region for the fourth consecutive quarter. The survey includes employers across seven industry sectors - Finance/ Insurance and Real Estate; Manufacturing; Mining and Construction; Public Administration and Education; Services; Transportation and Utilities; Wholesale and Retail Trade. As per the survey, the services sector emerged as the most optimistic while public administration and education segment showed the weakest hiring intentions. Finance, insurance and real estate sectors are considerably stronger on quarter-over-quarter basis. On a zonal basis, employers in North India would witness the most robust hiring pace (50 per cent), while hiring intentions are the weakest in the East, (30 per cent). On a global basis, out of the 32 countries, 31 are expected to report positive hiring intentions barring Spain. Majority of employers worldwide are less optimistic about adding employees in the quarter ahead and also when compared to one year ago with Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain reporting the least optimistic hiring expectations since the survey began in these countries.

Courtesy: www.assamtribune.com, June 11, 2008

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India is proposing to set up separate investment regions complete with integrated townships for the 'planned growth of the knowledge industry' because the booming IT sector in major cities is straining current infrastructure and adding to inflationary pressure. 'A blueprint has been prepared to build IT investment regions for planned growth of the knowledge industry. The central government will partner with states to provide infrastructure and attract investments in allied sectors to build integrated townships with facilities to work and reside,' Jainder Singh, the union IT secretary, told IANS in an interview here. Haphazard growth of the IT industry in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and NCR (national capital region) comprising Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad has put enormous pressure on infrastructure, civic amenities, transportation and public utilities. With demand for land, power, water, roads and utilities to meet the needs of the industry increasing, the seven cities are struggling to provide support infrastructure and other amenities. 'Though efforts are being made by state governments to decongest cities by asking the industry to explore tier-two and tier-three cities for homogeneous growth, the competitive nature of the industry in a global market and scope for attracting huge investments require long-term and integrated solutions,' Singh said on the sidelines of a technology summit, organised by the industry body Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies).

There will be full-fledged facilities to set up IT offices, residential quarters for employees, schools, malls, post offices, multiplexes, hospitals, parks and recreational facilities. All this is aimed at cutting commuting time and increasing productivity. 'We hope to kick-start the process in the next six months. We have worked on the nitty-gritty of the plans in consultation with the user industry for implementation on public-private partnership (PPP) mode,' Singh said. 'It is for states to come forward to provide land, water, power and utilities. The central government will provide connectivity, be it roads, highways, railways, bandwidth and allied infrastructure within its purview to build knowledge townships,' he said. There will be no tax benefits for IT firms in the proposed regions. It will be up to states to offer incentives or concessions to woo investors or existing firms to relocate or expand their operations in the regions. 'The firms, however, will be eligible for tax benefits or incentives if they are set up under the special export zone (SEZ) or STPI (software technology parks of India) policies,' Singh pointed out. Admitting that skill-based education and infrastructure were the twin challenges faced by the industry that has the potential to make India a global hub for IT services and back-office operations, Singh said his ministry was working with the human resources development ministry to churn out talent pools for building a strong knowledge workforce. 'Skill-based education will be introduced by changing the curriculum. Besides expanding capacity to meet the demand for skilled workforce, we will give more freedom to educational institutions to ensure a regular supply of talent pool for the knowledge industry,' Singh added. A joint study by Nasscom-A T Kearney on 'location roadmap for IT-BPO (business process outsourcing) growth' has identified 50 locations across the country with potential to set up the regions. At the same time, cities like Bangalore and Gurgaon are projected to grow by 2.5 times in capacity and opportunity to meet the future demand. 'The Indian BPO industry is maturing and rapidly spreading - both in business and geographically, employing 700,000 professionals and generating $11 billion in fiscal 2007-08,' Nasscom president Som Mittal said. 'There is a potential for a five-fold growth for the BPO sector in the next five years. We have identified 50 cities and towns which are poised to become IT-BPO destinations, provided the stakeholders, including the states, provide the infrastructure for building the ecosystem,' he said.

Courtesy: www.indiaenews.com, June 10, 2008

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India's annual steel production will touch 124 million tonnes by 2012 with a planned investment of Rs.2.76 trillion ($64.46 billion), up from 109.17 million tonnes in 2007-08, Minister of Steel Ram Vilas Paswan said here Friday. Paswan released his ministry's four-year report card 'Forging New Frontiers', detailing headway made by the steel industry in the four years of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule. Paswan said the country's crude steel production was growing over 10 percent annually from 34.71 million tonnes in 2002-03 to 53.90 million tonnes in 2007-08. 'The production of finished steel went up to 55.27 million tonnes in 2007-08 against 40.71 million tonnes in 2003-04,' he said, adding that the total investment in steel sector would go up to Rs.8.70 trillion ($203 billion) in 2020. The state-owned Steel Authority of India Limited's (SAIL) proposed Rs.540 billion expansion plan is expected to boost its production capacity to 26.2 million tonnes by 2010 and 60 million tonnes in 2019-20. 'The ministry is committed to make SAIL a global player in all respects,' said Paswan. Paswan said the consolidated profit before tax (PBT) of all public sector steel undertakings had increased to Rs.206.24 billion in 2007-08 from Rs.52.98 billion in 2003-04. Regarding expansion and investment in steel industry, Paswan said 193 memorandum of understandings (MoUs) have been signed by various states, including Orissa, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Chhattisgarh, with total planned capacity of around 243 million tonnes and a proposed investment of over Rs.5.14 trillion ($120 billion). 'Many private want to set up steel plants in Orissa, Jharkhand and other states, but they did not get adequate co-operation from them (state governments) in terms of land acquisition and other facilities. It is an issue the senior executives of private sector firms do raise when they meet me,' he said. Minister said there would be no scarcity of steel products in the country and the inter-ministerial group, constituted in July 2007, was coordinating and facilitating speedy implementation of major steel investments.

Courtesy: www.indiaenews.com, June 10, 2008

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Reflecting the growing global economic clout of the Asian region, three Indian cities -- Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore have been ranked among the 75 top centres of commerce in the world. According to a study titled 'Mastercard Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index', London has been ranked as the most influential city in the world in the 75 cities index. However, it stated that future appears to belong to Asia and Eastern Europe, whose cities represent the fastest rising regions within the index. The index is an annual research initiative designed to evaluate and rank how major cities compare in performing critical functions that connect markets and commerce around the world. "The booming Chinese and Indian economies have clearly continued the shift of economic power to Asia. The strong presence of Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa cities is further evidence of the growing influence of the region not just in manufacturing and services, but also in broadly based commercial strength," the report stated. This year, three Indian cities have been ranked in the index of 75 cities with Mumbai at the 48th position, New Delhi at 61 and Bangalore at 66th place, the report revealed. New Delhi and Bangalore are new additions to the index this year which was extended from 50 cities last year to 75 cities in 2008, while Mumbai, which had been ranked at the 45th place in 2007, has fallen three positions this year. In comparison, China has five cities in the index including Shanghai, a rapidly growing and massive city that ranks 24th this year, up from 32 in the 2007.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, Jun 10, 2008

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Tata Consultancy Services has identified opportunities for improvement in e-Governance in India and provided recommendations to help the Indian government can drive forward a program for comprehensive and effective e-Governance in the country. The White Paper is an attempt by TCS to use its experience in e-Governance projects to define a road-map for India and highlight current impediments like a silo-based approach that is limiting the benefits of technology use. The paper also highlights India's low position in global e-Governance rankings, and the need to catalyse policy decisions to improve e-Governance in India. India's per capita public sector IT spend is $1.29, compared to $199 in New Zealand and $153 in Singapore, for instance. On the back of the findings, TCS has come up with a five point plan towards building an ideal e-Governance framework in India:

1. A nationwide mandate to allocate a fixed percentage (~3%) of the annual budget for e-Governance projects
2. The need to adopt an integrated and holistic approach focused on services
3. National level oversight of any e-Governance programme and thereby move from individualized e-Governance to institutionalized e-Governance
4. A Fixed Tenure concept where key government executives are appointed for the entire term of any e-Governance initiative
5. A government standing committee to oversee national eGovernance programs

Courtesy: www.varindia.com, June 09, 2008

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Many a business group today is doing a dekko at education. The secret seems to lie in the high returns, often in the order of 20-25 per cent, according to an education expert. If quality education is made affordable, it can attract many who can afford it. "With traditional education getting more costlier, there has been a demand for good quality education even from many with incomes of around Rs 1.5 lakh per annum. They don't mind spending Rs 500-600 per month on the education of just one child," said Prabhu Jahagirdar, director, Future Tree Learning Services, an education firm. With plans to invest Rs 100 crore in the first phase by 2009 on daycare centres and schools in the city, the group runs some five daycare centres and is in the process of starting schools in the city. In the second phase, the group which believes its schools will breakeven in four years, plans to spend Rs 300 crore. Pupil Tree, the education arm of $562 million Future Tree Holdings, is launching prep schools to secondary schools, where the mentors are supported by programmes. FutureTree has global operations in the sectors of secondary metal, power, cement, mining, free trading zones and the entire gamut of supply chain management. One challenge the school seems to face is that of finding enough teachers. For this, the school has adopted 'training the trainers programmes. Pupil Tree also announced the launch of a 'Centre for Excellence' in Bangalore which will act as a source of quality induction and continuing education that includes modern best practices and techniques of learning and development. Announcing the launch of the 'Centre of Excellence', Jahagirdar said, "Our belief is, if a good teacher can reach about a 1,000 students in her lifetime, with technology we can ensure she touches millions. We have seen it happen at the classroom level in Bellary." Since its inception in 2001, it set up the first international quality school targeted at smaller cities, has been to develop a programme with focus on skill development that is accountable, track-able and traceable for both students and staff alike, added Jahagirdar.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, June 05, 2008

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The Indian cement industry is wary of importing equipment from China on doubts of efficiency and life of the machineries, officials of domestic cement companies said. ACC, UltraTech and other cement makers are investing over Rs 50,000 crore to add 118 million tonnes of fresh capacity in the current five-year plan (2007-12). Chinese equipment is comparatively cheaper than those from Europe. Puneet Dalmia, managing director, Dalmia Cement, said, "At present, we have no plans to bring machinery from China as there are unclear evidences regarding how long the plant would last." Cement majors such as ACC and Shree Cement has imported a small part of their equipment need from China, but these do not make part of the main cement plant. H M Bangur, chairman and managing director, Shree Cement, and president of Cement Manufacturers' Association, said, "The industry is definitely looking at China but with lot of caution. As the industry is in a learning process regarding Chinese machinery, it is importing some equipment for evaluating performance." A source from one of the leading multinational cement companies with India operations, said, "Chinese machinery for cement plants is significantly cheaper and under-priced. However, we only go for low-risk machinery (peripheral equipment) from China where we can have some cost savings." However, he added that it was still to be seen whether equipment from China could stood the test of time and become a reliable substitute. A K Saraogi, chief financial officer, Kanpur-based JK Cement, said, "We do not import machinery directly from China. We have placed our orders with world's leading player in the sector, FL Smith Cement Machinery Company, a Denmark-based firm. If that company sources equipment from China, we do not see it as problematic as the Dutch firm is a renowned one." Denmark, Germany, France, Japan and the US are the leading cement equipment exporters. According to a Mumbai-based cement analyst, so far the industry has not placed equipment orders with Chinese firms fearing the life-span of plants.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, June 05, 2008

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India is the fourth most attractive business location for European business houses, the fifth annual European attractiveness survey carried out by global consultancy firm Ernst & Young has said. Of the 834 decision-makers who responded to the survey, 30 per cent found India gaining investor confidence and growing as a better business destination than US and Russia. China was rated as the most attractive business destination with 47 per cent votes followed by Central Europe (42 per cent) and Western Europe (33 per cent). The US and Russia was preferred by 21 per cent. Termed as "an open world", the European attractiveness survey sought to identify the prospects of alternative business locations and the criteria that drive the perceptions of the respondents. According to E&Y, the survey findings underscored that the most important driving force for foreign direct investors is to access new markets and as Europe's economy slows, investors are increasingly looking to thriving economies and competitiveness elsewhere. "The survey findings further highlighted that business leaders today see the investment world as multi-polar, with destinations such as China, India, Russia and the West Asia. These relatively recent global players now present really viable competition to the developed world in the eyes of potential investors in search of investment locations", it stated. "The world is becoming a level playing field when it comes to businesses' perceptions of their cross-border investment options," said Marc Lhermitte, Partner, Ernst & Young, France, who led the European attractiveness survey. "The developed markets of Western Europe and the US are being challenged by competing equals. As they look ahead, businesses are chasing growth through Asian consumers' spending power, but Europe and the US still remain vastly diversified and powerful markets." Nearly half of European businesses are still developing their activities across European borders. Investors confirm that they will continue to consider projects in Europe in the near future, while also developing complex, longer-term investment projects in Asia Overall, 47 per cent of business leaders plan to develop activities in Europe, though 16 per cent say they will relocate all or part of their activities outside the region. 22 per cent respondents voted India as the second preferred global location for relocating projects following China which was the most favoured destination with 36 per cent votes. The suvery also found 21 per cent investors voting India as one of the top three most innovative countries ahead of UK, France, Finland and Sweden. US with 50 per cent votes and China with 34 per cent votes stand out in investors' minds as the most innovative countries followed by Germany & Japan with 31 per cent and 29 per cent respectively. The high ranking of China, along with Japan and India, places Asia at the top of the main geographical zones for its level of innovation.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, June 05, 2008

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Automobile maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has acquired 100 per cent stake in Italy-based Engines Engineering Srl, the new leal entity which will be formed after transferring all the businesses of Engines Engineering SpA, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. M&M has acquired the stake through its subsidiary Systec. "Demand for offshoring of engineering services has been growing rapidly. Acquiring a design house like Engines Engineering provides us the perfect vehicle to penetrate into markets of Europe, China and Russia," said Hemant Luthra, president, Systec. Engines Engineers has revenues of around $12 million, M&M informed the stock exchange. It is in the business of two-wheelers design and developing of motorcycle prototype.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, June 05, 2008

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Orissa-based mining company P K Ores plans to acquire coal mines in Tete province of Mozambique. It has registered a new firm, Triveni P K Mining Company, in Mozambique and hopes to acquire the mines soon. "We have already applied to the ministry of coal and mines of Mozambique for coal mines which may be allotted soon," Manas Ranjan Das Pattnaik, director, P K Ores said. One of the coal mines is estimated to have reserves of 25 million tonnes. Though the exact size of the deal will be known after a detailed survey, market sources put the value at more than Rs 100 crore. This will be the first overseas acquisition by the company. At present, it is executing the drilling and survey work for ETA, a Dubai-based company. Similarly, the company is also in talks with the Australian government for acquiring mines there. A senior company official will be visiting the country soon for assessing the investment opportunities in iron ore, coal and diamond.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, June 05, 2008

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Future Group flagship enterprise Pantaloon Retail has signed a 50-50 joint venture