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GE
:A Fortune 500 Company in India
GE’s relationship with India started way back in 1902, when it
installed India’s first hydro power plant. In 1930, IGE
(International General Electric) was set up for sales of GE
products and services, by GE businesses - not represented in
India. Today, the majority of GE’s worldwide businesses have a
presence in India - aircraft engines, broadcasting, capital
services, lighting, medical systems, industrial systems,
plastics, power systems and transportation systems - either
through joint ventures, wholly-owned subsidiaries, strategic
alliances or business development and customer support presence.
GE’s revenues and orders in India are worth approximately US$ 1
billion. Over US$ 1 billion of exports from India support GE’s
global business operations. Employment across India, including
GE affiliates, exceeds 22,000. In 2002, GE celebrated a century
of working in India and building on its solid foundations to
become a significant participant across a wide range of key
services, technology and manufacturing industries.
Farm sector open to 100 per cent FDI, RBI clarifies
Agriculture sectors such as horticulture, floriculture,
development of seeds, animal husbandry, pisciculture, aqua
culture, cultivation of vegetables, mushroom under cultivated
conditions and services related to agro and allied sectors are
open to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) through the
automatic route.
Blackstone invests US$ 50 million in Emcure
Global private investment and advisory firm, The Blackstone
Group, is set to invest US$ 50 million in the Pune-based pharma
company Emcure. The transaction represents Blackstone's first
investment in India after the launch of its private equity
business here last year and is expected to close by August 2006.
Cryobanks to invest US$ 21 million on cord blood banks
Cryobanks International India Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between
the US$ 260 million R J Corp and Cryobanks International Inc,
will invest about US$ 21 million in setting up seven cord blood
banks in India in the next 18 months. The company has started
its first facility in Gurgaon, which has a capacity to store
more than 1,00,000 units of cord blood, obtained from the
umbilical chord at the the time of child birth. "People
willing to keep the cord blood for future use in their family
can avail the facility by paying a nominal one-time fee, of
about Rs 60,000 for 21 years, or can pay the amount in
installments," Cryobanks India Advisor said. Globally, the cord
blood, from which stem cell is extracted, storage market is
estimated to be about $2 billion and India has been emerging as
an attractive destination owing to its diverse ethnicity and
large population base.
Barclays to invest US$ 70 million in India
London-based bank Barclays Plc said it would invest US$ 70
million to strengthen its corporate banking business in India.
The bank, which employs 40 people in its investment banking
business in India, is also planning to increase the headcounts
by 150 for the corporate banking team. "These moves will
strengthen the bank's position in this key market. Earlier
this year, Barclays doubled its investment in the country by
infusing 150 million dollars to support the growth of its
investment banking business.
Fisher to invest US$ 21 million in Cadila SEZ
Fisher Scientific International (FSI), a Fortune 500 company,
will invest more than US$ 21 million for a 100 per cent
export-oriented unit in the Cadila-promoted special economic
zone (SEZ) at Changodar near Ahmedabad. The company has already
bought land for the unit, to be called Fisher Clinical. To mark
its entry into India, the US-based $5.6 billion manufacturer of
lab equipment for drug research, acquired the Mumbai-based
Ultrapure Scientifics recently. After the acquisition,
Ultrapure has been renamed Scientific Products (Indis) Pvt Ltd (SPIPL),
and it has become FSI’s 100 per cent subsidiary. SPIPL will be
operated as a marketing firm while Fisher Clinical will become
100 per cent export-oriented unit. Fisher Clinical will produce
consumable supplies for clinical applications, including
drugs-of-abuse testing, specimen collection, veterinary and
dairy testing and general packaging and storage in the SEZ.
These products include leak-proof plastic vials and containers.
Manufacturing in India
India's manufacturing sector grew at an average annual rate of 6
per cent per year in the fourteen years between 1990-91 and
2003-04, which was higher than the 5.8 per cent growth achieved
by overall industry and the 5.7 per cent GDP growth during the
same period. The sector recorded a growth of 11.4 per cent in
2005, while the overall industrial sector also recorded a
double-digit GDP growth of 10.3 per cent. Further, Indian
manufactured products are now gaining acceptance in world
markets. India already exports about US$ 50 billion a year in
manufactured goods and this is increasing at the rate of 20 per
cent a year.
Canon India Pvt. Ltd.
Canon India Pvt. Ltd. was established in 1997. It provides its
services to more than 350,000 customers for its digital imaging
products. Canon India reported a gross turnover of US$ 69.3
million in 2005, an increase of 18 percent in comparison to that
in 2004. In line with this new strategy, the company has over
the past few months successfully developed and launched products
in several segments including digital camcorders, digital
cameras, projectors and printers that connect to television
sets, and therefore, has been able to expand its television
customer-base to around 85 million. Canon realises that the
Indian retail sector is poised to become the largest market in
the world in the next few years. It has, therefore, been
expanding its retail initiatives in three domains. These include
IT, photo and audiovisual segments.
Foreign banks may get 100 branches
The commerce ministry has proposed to permit wholly owned
subsidiaries of foreign banks to increase the number of their
branches in India to 100, from the present 20. In May last year,
the government had offered to increase the number to 20.
Eight new
companies in US$ 217 million profit club
In 2005-06, eight listed companies entered the US$ 217 million
net profit club, taking the total membership to 30. The new
entrants are three public sector and five private companies.
From the public sector, National Mineral Development Corporation
(NMDC), Bharat Heavy Electrical (BHEL) and Hindustan Zinc have
made it to the club. Two private sector automobile firms, Maruti
Udyog and Bajaj Automobiles, and one each from software (Satyam
Computer), engineering (Larsen & Toubro) and petrochemicals
(Indian Petrochemicals) are the other entrants. The top 10
rankings are equally shared by public and private sector
companies.
PCs grow 32
per cent to cross 5 million
The Indian computer juggernaut continues to roll at a time when
PC sales in many world markets are faltering. The market grew 32
per cent to cross 5-million-mark for the first time during the
year ending March 2006. According to the annual Industry
Performance Review brought out by Manufacturers Association of
Information Technology (MAIT) along with IMRB, the notebook
computers continued to grow at over 100 percent as in the past.
The figure stood at a healthy 430, 000, up 144 per cent. Many
new models of laptops were introduced in the affordable range of
sub-Rs 40,000 and sub-Rs 30,000 categories, leading to a major
boost in sales.
Morgan
Stanley to invest US$ 1 billion in Indian realty
Morgan Stanley Real Estate, the realty arm of global financial
services firm Morgan Stanley, said it plans to invest US$ 1
billion in next 4-5 years in India. "Over the next 4-5 years,
around one billion dollars investment is not out of realm of
possibility," Executive Director of Morgan Stanley Real Estate
in Asia Pacific said. The company, which recently invested
around $65 million in Delhi-based real estate firm Alpha G:Corp,
has already invested about $140 million in India, he said.
Microsoft to
invest US$ 150 million in Pune
Microsoft is set to pump in US$ 150 million in a mega software
development centre in Pune, according to IT Secretary,
Government of Maharashtra. When announced, this will be the
single biggest IT investment coming into the city so far. TCS
recently announced an investment of Rs 500 million for Pune. He
said the Microsoft investment would be announced soon and that
it would be outside the Hinjewadi IT Park. He also said the
state is also in discussions with other multinational IT
companies like Hewlett Packard and IBM to bring in their future
investments into the state.
Lafarge: A
Fortune 500 company in India
Lafarge Group, a Fortune 500 French giant, is a leader in
construction materials with global revenues of US$ 19 billion in
2003. The group’s Indian operations, Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd.,
started in November 1999, subsequent to the take-over of Tata
Steel’s Cement division. The company acquired a total capacity
of 4 million tonnes of cement and after de-bottlenecking,
currently, has a manufacturing capacity of 5 million tonnes of
cement and 3 million tonnes of clinker. Two of its plants are
located in Chhattisgarh and one Grinding Unit is located in
Jharkhand. Lafarge India’s operations include production and
retailing of Portland Slag Cement, Ordinary Portland Cement and
Portland Pozzolana Cement besides clinker and colour roofing
products. The company has a good social focus and some of its
activities include providing training to unemployed youth,
computer education for girls and computer-aided education for
others, supporting the setting up of an eye care institute in
Raipur. As part of its social initiatives Lafarge Group has
launched a programme in India aiming to help provide affordable
housing for the people belonging to the low-income group. In
addition, Lafarge is also engaged in the rehabilitation of
quarries that aid the near-by villages through water harvesting.
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Ratan Tata, David M Cote honoured
Ratan Tata and Honeywell International CEO, David M Cote, were
awarded at the US-India Business council event. The Leadership
award was given to Cote as 'the US Company contributing most to
the Indo-US commercial relationship', while the honour of being
India’s most respected multinational business conglomerate went
to Ratan Tata of Tata Group of Companies.
India expects US$ 12 billion foreign investment this year
India expects to attract around US$ 12 billion in foreign direct
investment this year with growing interest among companies from
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the Associated Press reported on
Tuesday quoting an Indian government official. Foreign direct
investment to India last fiscal year, ending in March, totalled
nearly $8 billion and the government had earlier projected it to
increase to $10 billion this year. Industry Secretary was quoted
as saying that the target was revised upwards after encouraging
response from companies in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, whose
investments in India so far have not been large. The United
States and Western European states have been the major investors
of foreign capital in India. “We hope to attract about $1
billion from Japan this year, while investments from South Korea
and Taiwan should be $500 million each,” he said. Several
companies from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are already engaged
in talks with the government, exploring investment options.
Indian Companies in UK
India’s huge and increasingly prosperous middle class remains an
attraction for UK investors, but now, in a remarkable reversal
of that trend, Indian companies investing in the UK consider
market potential in that country as the main attraction. Indian
companies are increasing their overseas investments to gain
access to the US and EU markets. The targeted firms are being
used as platforms to gain access into these foreign markets by
leveraging the market positions already established by these
firms on their respective domestic turfs. The value of overseas
buyouts by Indian companies increased from US$ 1.7 billion in
2004 to US$ 4.5 billion in 2005. This represents an increase of
164 per cent.
Eurocopter plans US$ 1 billion investment in India
Eurocopter, the world's largest civil and military helicopter
manufacturer, will invest over US$ 1 billion in India over the
next two years. A wholly owned subsidiary of European aerospace
major EADS, the company has put in bids for over 500 helicopter
manufacturing contracts for Indian defence. The company is
planning to set up an Indian subsidiary, a helicopter training
school, and a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre for
helicopters in the country.
Intel stepping up investments in India
Its proposed downsizing initiative globally has not deterred
chipmaker Intel in stepping up its investment in India and
expanding its research and development facilities. As part of
its cost-cutting initiative, Intel had announced that it would
prune its under-performing business worldwide and at stake were
16,000 jobs. However, the company is finalising its expansion
plans in India and is expected to invest $50 million in
Bangalore.
'Textile sector exports can reach US$ 85 billion by 2010'
India has the capability of becoming one of the leading
exporters of textiles as it is the third largest cotton producer
in the world after China and the US, said Additional Secretary
and Financial Adviser, Ministry of Textiles. The textile sector
has the potential to reach $85 billion by 2010 from its current
size of $36 billion. Its average annual growth rate is 11 per
cent. This growth can be further fuelled by both exports and a
rise in domestic consumption, he said.
CSC to invest US$ 40 million for new facility at Noida
Global IT services company Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
said it will invest US$ 40 million to set up a new integrated
facility at Noida and would increase headcount by 1000-2000 by
2007. The first phase of construction at the facility is
expected to be completed by March 2007, he said. CSC had begun
its operations in Noida in 2001 and the new campus there would
serve as a hub from where CSC would conduct its services. The
US-based company, which clocked a global turnover of $14.6
billion dollars in 2005-06, started its India operations in 1996
and has set up base in Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore and Noida. CSC
provides end-to-end services in applications, infrastructure and
BPO and would be expanding its current locations in India.
Techbooks to invest US$ 10 million in India expansion
Knowledge
process outsourcing (KPO) and publishing services provider
Techbooks has scaled up its India investment plans to US$ 10
million this year as it is foraying into new services such as
litigation support and pharma filings. The company plans to
recruit about 2,000 people during the year and is mulling
another processing centre. Though no decision has been taken on
the possibility of an initial public offer (IPO), this could
potentially come within a year and be either in the US or even
in India.
New mining policy to boost investments
The government said a new mining policy was on the anvil, aimed
at attracting domestic and foreign investments to the tune of
US$ 21 billion. The policy envisages generating direct and
indirect employment for about 500,000 skilled and unskilled
workers by 2011.
'India third largest investor in UK'
Indian companies nearly doubled their investments in Britain
during 2005-06 to emerge as the third largest overseas investor
in that country. According to the UK Inward Investment Report,
Indian companies invested 1.02 billion pounds during the year.
"India is now the third largest investor in the UK with Indian
foreign investment projects into the UK increasing by a
staggering 110 percent in 2005-06," British Trade and Investment
deputy Director (Inward Investment) for India said."During
2005-06, the UK recorded a total of 76 investment projects from
India, creating 1,449 jobs.
Actis Biologics debuts with US$ 21 million investment
The US-based biotech research company, Actis Biologics Inc (ABI),
has firmed up its plan to enter India with an initial investment
of US$ 21 million to set up a large scale research facility in
Mumbai and multiple manufacturing sites in the country. The
Indian arm, which will have five subsidiaries focusing on
different technology platforms in the biopharmaceutical space,
has equity investment commitments from two leading Indian
corporates —Walchand Nagar Industries and Innovsynth
Technologies India, a subsidiary of the polyester major Futura.
Actis Biologics Private Ltd (ABPL)- the Indian company will have
60 per cent equity held by private and high networth individual
investors, another 30 per cent by private equity companies and
Actis Biologics Inc and 10 per cent holding by promoters. ABPL
has already received a grant from ICICI Bank to the tune of
around $1 million and it has a funding commitment from the
Centre for developing some of its very promising drug candidates
in the area of cancer.
German
companies in India: Burgmann India
Burgmann India Private Limited, an Indo-German joint venture,
manufactures state-of-the-art mechanical seals and sealing
systems for industries such as refineries, petrochemicals,
power, aerospace, marine etc. Burgmann considers India as one
of the most important markets in the world today in terms of
global outsourcing, manufacturing and design. The company's
growth in the last 10 years has exceeded the expectations of the
parent. Between 2001 and 2005, the company has grown by around
300 per cent. The plan is to generate 5 – 10 per cent of the
group’s total revenue from Indian operations 5 years from now.
The company has been successful in making India the
manufacturing hub of critical components for Burgmann
subsidiaries across the globe.
India most preferred banking destination
India is emerging as one of the most preferred private banking
destinations at a time when the global private banking and
wealth management industry is witnessing a boom in the mergers
and acquisition activity, a KPMG report has said. Global
consultancy firm KPMG in its report titled 'Hungry for more –
Acquisition appetite and strategy in the global private banking
and wealth management industry', said with robust and liquid
financial markets enabling exits on a timely basis to realise
gains, India is a good resource deployment avenue. "India's
economy is growing at eight per cent per annum and is going
through a transformation to the next level of maturity. This
enables double digit returns on most asset classes, which is not
so in a majority of countries, making India a preferred private
banking destination," Head, Transaction Services, KPMG, India,
said.
Bharti Telesoft enters partner sales agreement with Telkom
Caribe
Bharti
Telesoft, the leading global supplier of core Value Added
Services (VAS) platforms for wireless and wireline carriers, has
entered into a partner sales agreement with Telkom Caribe
(offices in Miami, Florida and Trinidad, W.I.). Under the
agreement, Telkom Caribe will promote Bharti Telesoft products
to telecom service providers in Central America and the
Caribbean, further extending Bharti Telesoft's reach in these
regions. “Central America and the Caribbean are high growth
regions where customers are also looking for operators with new
and exciting services, such as content, messaging and other
value added propositions. Commenting on the sales agreement, CEO
of Telkom Caribe said, “Telkom Caribe is keen to promote Bharti
Telesoft’s products to the Central American and Caribbean
markets, as the value added services that these products enable
will advance communications in the region dramatically.”
A
new world of banking
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's central bank and
monetary authority allowed Bank of Baroda (BoB), Bank of
Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) to set up a
joint venture bank in Malaysia. The three Indian public sector
banks will hold the $77 million equity in a 40:30:30 proportion.
The bank will eventually be listed on the Malaysian bourses.
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