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Microsoft and Intel to invest US $ 15 billions in Indian IT
sector
Global giants
like Microsoft, IBM and Intel have announced plans to
investments to the tune of over $ 15 billion and thousands of
new jobs for their operations and joint ventures in India. A
highly skilled and vast workforce, low-cost operations, a
booming economy, good telecommunications links and a rapidly
growing market are some of the reasons why multinational giants
to the Indian shores with big investment plans. About six major
global IT companies -- German application software giant SAP AG,
IT services major IBM, world's largest software maker Microsoft,
largest computer chipmaker Intel and US-based software giant AMD
and leader in networking for the internet Cisco -- have each
committed over $ one billion dollar investment in the country
over the past few months. With designs to make India its
research and development hub, SAP AG last week announced it
would invest $ one billion. The company will increase the
headcount in India to 4,000 by the end of this year and hopes to
double the number over the next five years, riding on the demand
for SAP's products. IBM in June this year has announced to
triple its investments in India over the next three years by
pumping in US $ six billion towards its India operations.
Microsoft, the world s largest software maker, will inject $
1.7 billion in India on various projects over a period of four
years. The company would also double its workforce in the
country during the same period. Till December last year,
Microsoft had 4,000 employees in India.
126
US grads join Infosys, start
training at Mysore
Infosys
Technologies announced the arrival of 126 new hires from
universities in the United States as the first batch of the
Infosys Global Talent Program (GTP). According to a release
issued by Infosys, these new hires, the largest group of foreign
nationals recruited to work in India to date, begin their
six-month, customised
education program at Infosys’ Global Education Centre in
Mysore. The Global Talent Program (GTP), Infosys’
university-level recruiting program outside of India, was
created to enhance recruitment efforts to attract the best and
brightest talent in the countries and communities in which
Infosys operates. Trainees recruited for GTP will undergo a
customised education and orientation program created to ensure
that they are trained adequately with technical skills,
necessary client-facing skills and sufficient live project
exposure in the global delivery model.
Govt
may raise the ceiling on number of SEZ
The Centre
will hold a review for raising the ceiling on the number of
Special Economic Zones from the present 150, commerce & Industry
Minister has said. The limit of 150 has already been exhausted
and the board of approval for SEZs is flooded with scores of
fresh applications. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM)
headed by Defence Minister had placed the limit on the number of
SEZs to be ap-proved. "There was no final limit to the number of
SEZs that can be estab-lished. The limit of 150 was set to see
the response. Now, a review will be held,” according to the
Minister at a Marketing Summit organised by the Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII). The government has received close to 400
proposals from both public and private sector players including
Nokia, Reliance, Wipro and ONGC. "When the limit was set, we had
decided to review the situation once we reached the 150 mark.
The SEZ Act does not put any limit to the number of SEZs that
can be set up across the country," Minister said.
Posco, first foreign firm to board Railways
Railway
Minister is keen to bring Korean steel maker Posco on board. In
what would be the first investment by a foreign company in a
railway project, Posco is all set to pick up 10 per cent equity
in a rail corridor connecting its steel plant with Orissa's
Paradeep Port. The project would also be the first of its kind
in the country, wherein it would be developed jointly with rail
users — Public Sectors and private companies. Besides Posco,
steel companies like Jindal, SAIL and MSPL Mining Company are
also likely to join the consortium. Posco is also planning to
set up its own port at Jatadhari near Paradeep, which would also
be serviced through the new track. The Haridaspur-Paradeep rail
line project is likely to cost Rs 5600 million and will have an
equity component of Rs 2700 million. Posco is likely to fork out
Rs 270 million initially for the 10% stake. The new corridor
will be an alternative to the Cuttak-Paradeep railway line.
Sun
Microsystems sets up ControlCenter in Chennai
Sun
Microsystems has set up its ControlCenter, third in the world
and first in Asia Pacific, in Chennai. The centre will manage
and monitor customers’
information technology (IT) infrastructure and processes.
The company’s other two centres are located in Linlithgow (US)
and Scotland (Europe). The ControlCenter in Chennai has already
started functioning and will employ about 300 skilled engineers
who will integrate seamlessly with its two ControlCentres in the
US and Europe, employing around 600 engineers. Addressing a
press conference, Vice-President, (services), Asia Pacific, Sun
Microsystems Pte Ltd, said Sun considered locating its
ControlCenter for the Asia Pacific region in Japan and China
before choosing Chennai. As scalability is a key factor in
ControlCenter operations, Chennai was found to be matching the
requirements with regard to skills, language and access to
resources, he added.
Petro regions to attract global giants on cards
The government
plans to rope in global chemical giants like Dow Chemicals,
Dupont, Mitsubishi Chemicals and Sabic to set up bases in the
country. In a bid to facilitate these giants to start
manufacturing units in India, Petroleum, Chemical and
Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIR) will be set up across
the country. “PCPIRs will be a significant step for promoting
investments on a truly global scale. We expect the global
companies to set up their bases in this regions,” the Union
Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers said. A new
petrochemical policy is also under consideration, which aims at
increasing investments and promoting demand. The policy aims at
lowering the excise duty on plastics and polymers. According to
sources, the government has identified seven locations where
these PCPIRs are expected to come up and each of these regions
is expected to be developed with investments of Rs 100,000
million. Seven states identified by the ministry for setting up
PCPIRs include Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Orissa, West Bengal and Kerala. “PCPIR would be a specially
delineated investment region spread over an area of about 250sq
km, where infrastructure would be provided in public-private
partnership mode,” said the Minister.
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EEPC
expects exports to top US$ 23 billion
Engineering
Export Promotion Council (EEPC) has set engineering export
target of US$ 23 billion for 2006-07 against last year's export
figure of US$ 19.18 billion. The achievement in 2005-06 was
even higher than the revised target of $18.3 billion for the
year. Machinery and instruments, transport equipment and
manufacturers of metal jointly contributed over 70 per cent of
the total export. The principal items of engineering exports
were machine tools, ferro alloys, machine tools, ferro alloys
amongst others. Chairman of EEPC, said, "EEPC is eyeing 20 per
cent export growth in export of engineering goods this year to
$23 billion."
Global manufacturers to step up R&D activity in India
Global
manufacturers, currently selling their products in India, are
expected to significantly increase their research and
development activity in the country over the next three years,
according to a report to be released by
business advisory firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT). The
report on ‘Innovation in Emerging Markets: Strategies for
achieving commercial success’, based on a survey of 418
manufacturing executives from companies spread over 28
countries, will be released at the 2006 Summit on Indian
Manufacturing Competitiveness. Among the companies surveyed, 23
per cent said they currently had R&D operations in India, while
another 12 per cent said they were planning to launch such
operations. On the other hand, 33 per cent of the companies
indicated to increase their R&D activity significantly. The
executives surveyed cited “better understanding of the local
market, faster time to market and lower R&D costs” as the top
three reasons for conducting R&D in emerging markets.
Berggruen to invest US$ 100 million in hotel chain
Berggruen
Holdings India, a subsidiary of New York-based investment
company Berggruen Holdings, has announced that it is
seed-funding a non-luxury hotel chain in India. The company is
prepared to make a commitment of up to $100 million of equity
per transaction. The privately-owned parent company holds net
assets exceeding $1.5 billion and invests internationally in a
range of asset classes that include private equity funds and
real estate. The company hopes to be a major player in the
mid-range segment, owning and managing 100-room, full-service
hotels operating in the Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 pricing segment.
The hotels will be spread across tier-I, II and III cities with
a mixed focus on industrial, business and tourism centres.
FDI
inflow in FY'07 Q1 up 47 per cent
Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) inflows into India increased 47 per cent to
$1.7 billion in April-June quarter this fiscal, compared to $1.1
billion in the same period last fiscal. FDI inflows in June
grew 102 per cent to 534 million dollars, as against $264
million in June last year, Commerce Minister said. India's
export during July increased 41 per cent to $10.2 billion, while
total exports in April-July this fiscal rose by 34 per cent to
$38 billion, he said. Imports in July increased 24 per cent to
$14.1 billion, while cumulative imports in the first four months
of this fiscal rose 29 per cent to $54.5 billion. Minister also
said these were provisional figures compared to the year-ago
period provisional figures and added that these "will be revised
upwards".
Tata
Tea buys 30 per cent in Glaceau for US$ 677 million
In the largest
ever acquisition by an Indian firm, The Tata Group announced it
had acquired a 30 per cent stake in Energy Brands Inc, USA, also
known as Glaceau, a specialty mineral water and energy drink
company. Tata Sons and Tata Tea will jointly invest $ 677
million in Glacéau to purchase the stake previously held by TSG
Consumer Partners and provide additional growth capital. This
transaction has been done under Tata Tea, Great Britain, which
manages the Tetley Tea business globally. A release issued by
the company said that this investment would the Tata Group's
presence in the US and provide global opportunities for global
growth.
Govt
allows FDI power to flow into markets
The government
will soon unveil a policy to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
in stock and commodity exchanges, depositories and clearing
corporations. In what signals a change of stance from the
previously held view of barring foreign investment in this
segment of the financial sector, the Finance Ministry is at work
to finalise a set of guidelines, senior officials said. The
level of equity holding, which may be allowed for an overseas
investor, may be capped at 25% to start with.
IBM
in 41 Indian cities
IBM India
kicked off its operations in Kochi, Kerala, expanding its reach
to 41 cities in the country. The development is another step
the company has taken towards catering to small and medium
enterprises (SME) spread across the country’s smaller cities.
“Mid-market companies have distinct needs that are often
ignored by most service providers. IBM’s technologies and
solutions for Indian small and mid-market businesses provide a
competitive edge in this era of globalisation,” said Vice
President (Small & Medium Business), IBM India. “Understanding
these needs, we want to expand our reach to be closer to our
clients, enabling us to serve them better. Our new operation in
Kochi is a step in that direction,” he added. IBM’s portfolio
of clients in Kerala includes the state government, JRG
Securities, IIM Calicut, Dhanalaksmi Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank,
Malabar Institution of Medical Sciences among others.
Real
estate worth to soar on retail growth
The country's
real estate worth may touch US$ 366 bilion 2010. The
country’s total stock of commercial real estate is expected to
grow by $66 billion to be worth $366 billion by 2010. A large
part of this is expected from growth in organised retail (India
is among the world’s 10 largest retail markets with an estimated
turnover of $250 billion). Given this, by the end of 2008,
nearly 220 shopping centres in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities are
likely to have been set up with new shopping formats boosting
organised retail trade. In its report, Deutsche Bank Research
has said the opening up of the retail market to foreigners could
reinforce this trend.
SAIL
to touch 40 mt by 2020
State-owned
Steel Authority of India (SAIL), in a bid to retain its status
as the country's largest steelmaker, plans to increase its
capacity to 40 million tonne (mt) a year by 2020. The enhanced
capacity of the steel major will be more than the total domestic
production of 38.1 mt last year. The second-largest domestic
steel producer Tata Steel, on the other hand, is working towards
a capacity of 30 mt by 2015. SAIL produced 14 mt in the last
financial year and is on its course to ramping up its annual
capacity to 22.5 mt by 2010. Although the company is yet to
make its final funding estimates, it is investing Rs 370,000
million in its current expansion, which is adding 9 mt a year.
Analysts said the addition of 17.5 mt would need a capital
infusion of at least Rs 600,000 million.
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