Indian Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[Bushroda]

India ready to get the world's money
By John Zarocostas
Washington Times, DC
November 2, 2007

GENEVA -- For many years, the world's largest democracy, India, watched frustrated from the sidelines as well-heeled foreign investors injected tens of billions of dollars of capital each year into communist China's economic miracle under way next-door — but not anymore.

Although China — with its powerhouse economy and double-digit growth rates — remains the top investment destination in Asia and in the developing world, its southern neighbor, India, is now seen with a more favorable eye in many boardrooms around the globe.

Last year, India attracted a nearly threefold increase in foreign direct investment to $16.8 billion, compared with $6.6 billion in 2005 and $5.7 billion in 2004, according to a new report by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

"Rapid economic growth has led to improved investor confidence in the country," says UNCTAD's world investment report for 2007.

A series of long overdue structural reforms are rapidly transforming India into a formidable player in many spheres of the world economy from traditional manufacturing to high-tech services.

The economy, which has in recent years posted growth rates of between 6 percent to 8 percent, is estimated by the Indian government to grow by 9.2 percent for fiscal 2006-07.

New Delhi is aiming for a growth rate of 10 percent by 2011, which Western economic think tanks, including the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, say is achievable if the recent pace of reforms continues.

As in China, the big draw is India's massive and lucrative domestic market potential and its rapidly growing middle class, analysts say.

Moreover, India is also projected to overtake China to become the world's most populous nation by 2050.

According to the United Nations' 2007 world population report, India's population is forecast to reach 1.6 billion, up from today's 1.1 billion, and China's to increase to 1.4 billion, up from the 2007 level of 1.3 billion.

The UNCTAD report points out that U.S. multinational corporations such as Wal-Mart have entered the Indian market and that others such as General Motors and IBM "are rapidly expanding their presence."

Other global corporations are also lining up deals for a slice of the action.

Last year, POSCO, a South Korean steel producer, announced that it would invest $12 billion in a steel plant, and Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. announced an expansion plan of $1.65 billion that will bring its annual automobile production capacity in India to 1 million, according to the UNCTAD report.

But investment specialists also emphasize that India still has a way to go before it can match China, which embarked on market-oriented reforms that included an overhaul of its command economy in the late 1970s.

Looking ahead, UNCTAD analysts expect the strong trend in foreign investment in India to continue the upward trend in the short term and surge in the long run.

Supachai Panitchpakdi, UNCTAD secretary-general, told The Washington Times that many Indian industries — from steel to automobiles and auto parts — are now "more geared to the global economy."

Mr. Supachai, a former deputy prime minister of Thailand, said that South Asia's largest emerging market was increasingly more integrated with the global economy and that Indian reforms under way are likely to increase the integration.

In 2006, India's merchandise exports grew 21 percent to $120 billion and its imports grew 25 percent to $174 billion, according to World Trade Organization data.

Seasoned investment bankers active in both of the world's biggest emerging economies say one attraction is India's large pool of English-speaking, skilled, price-competitive labor force.

On the downside, India still has a large rural poor population of subsistence farmers, many urban poor and millions who are severely hindered from breaking out of the cycle of mass poverty by deeply entrenched discriminatory social norms.

The country also has massive infrastructure needs and even greater social challenges, including high malnourishment — especially among children; low levels of adult literacy among women; and poor access to drugs and affordable health services.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that from 2001 to 2003, about 212 million people — or about 20 percent of the Indian population at the time — were undernourished.

Still the UNCTAD report anticipates continued global foreign investment, which in 2006 was partly driven by increases in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, higher stock prices and re-invested earnings.

"Inflows in 2007 are forecast to reach $1.4 to $1.5 trillion, which would imply a new record level," it predicts.

UNCTAD's chief for investment analysis, Anne Miroux, said the agency projects an overall increase in foreign investment flows destined for developing countries, especially in Asia.

UNCTAD predicts that rapid growth in Asia is likely to continue, "underpinned by the strong performance of China and India." Ms. Miroux added that markets seeking investment to the region "should keep pace with rapid economic growth in the next few years."

In 2006, foreign investment to Asia increased by 19 percent to a new high of $200 billion and accounted for more than half of $379 billion in investment to developing countries and transition economies.

China was the biggest recipient, ahead of Hong Kong, Singapore, and India.

But inward investment to China fell for the first time in seven years by 4 percent to a still very respectable $69 billion. The decrease was mainly due to a drop in financial-services investments. Hong Kong reached $42.8 billion, up from $33.6 billion the year before, and Singapore attracted $24 billion, up from $15 billion.

In 2006, foreign investment inflows to rich industrialized countries rose by 45 percent to $857 billion, with the United States the world's top destination with $175 billion, up from $101 billion the previous year, followed by the United Kingdom, with $139.5 billion, and France, with $81 billion.

 

[Neo]

IMF chief warns India about limiting capital flow​

WASHINGTON, Nov 3: International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Friday cautioned India that curbing capital inflows too much could undermine confidence in the country, Asia’s booming, third-largest economy.

Strauss-Kahn, in his first news conference a day after starting his new post as IMF managing director, said it was important to enhance the transparency of the capital flowing into the country but limiting it may not always be good.

The problem of this kind of thing is it may undermine the confidence in the Indian economy, Strauss-Kahn, the former French finance minister, said. It will have an influence certainly on capital inflows but not always a good influence.

I think the Indian authorities should think over several times before implementing this kind of instrument, he said.

The Indian government has ratcheted up efforts to ensure that capital inflows don’t push the rupee out of control.

Meanwhile, the country’s stock market regulator last month tightened investment rules by clamping down on issuance of indirect investment notes, known as participatory notes, which are used by foreign investors not registered in India.

Strauss-Kahn said the rupee’s appreciation to record highs this week reflected strong economic fundamentals and a keen interest by foreigners to invest in the country. The appreciation of the rupee is driven by a lot of international capital flow to India, and that is the good news, he said, adding that companies increasingly want to establish offices in the country.

So an inevitable consequence of that, an unavoidable consequence of that, you have an important inflow of capital to India with a consequence on the rupee, he added.

The rupee jumped to a nine-and-a-half-year high on Thursday as investors bet on capital inflows into Indian markets after the US Federal Reserve trimmed interest rates, but suspected central bank intervention capped gains.

Even if it is not always easy to deal with an appreciation of your currency, as a European I can tell you, nevertheless it reflects good fundamentals, Strauss-Kahn said. You do not have to do anything which will in one way or another undermine this good luck.

IMF chief warns India about limiting capital flow -DAWN - Business; November 04, 2007

 

[Flintlock]

Employees turn around Maharashtra transport utility

For the first time since 1995, the state-owned Maharashtra State Road Transport Corp (MSRTC) has come out of the red, posting a net profit of Rs.153.2 million, courtesy its more than 100,000 employees.

From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 29 Oct 2007 - (Latest news from India - India eNews)

For the first time since 1995, the state-owned Maharashtra State Road Transport Corp (MSRTC) has come out of the red, posting a net profit of Rs.153.2 million, courtesy its more than 100,000 employees.

Hanumant Tate, general secretary of the State Transport Employees Federation, said faced with the spectre of privatisation or closure, the employees decided to get into the act and save their only means of livelihood.

For starters, three years ago, the employees 'donated' a mini-fleet of 22 deluxe buses costing Rs.20 million to MSRTC to improve the quality of its existing fleet of around 15,000 buses, Tate told IANS.

The money came from the employees' fund earmarked in the MSRTC Employees' Cooperative Bank to be disbursed during the bank's golden jubilee celebrations.

'Instead of taking the money for personal use, the employees' general body meeting decided to invest it in MSRTC from which they could get long-term benefits. It was an unprecedented move,' said Tate.

Realising that MSRTC was a lifeline servicing the poorest in the state's remotest corners, the employees decided to improve the quality of service to passengers.

'We regularly take coaching classes in our union office for the staff. We infuse into them that the passenger is a god and the bus is our temple. The 'god' must step into a clean 'temple', and the staff must be courteous, helpful and polite,' Tate said.

Employees on certain long routes voluntarily contributed to install music and television sets in 500 buses to entertain passengers.

These simple steps paid rich dividends. Qualitative changes in the service, the cleanliness of the buses and staff courtesy ensured that passengers could be weaned away from the private operators.

The employees also took to innovative marketing and branding techniques to lure more passengers. According to Tate, currently 22 different types of freebies or extra benefits are offered to the passengers.

After providing for various taxes, depreciation, provision for new buses and other statutory requirements, MSRTC posted a net profit of Rs.150.32 million for the financial year 2006-07. Tate is optimistic that MSRTC's profits will double in the current fiscal.

With a profitable year under its belt, MSRTC is looking ahead. It will increase the fleet by providing more comfortable buses, mini buses for short routes, semi-deluxe, air-conditioned ones and Volvos for different routes. It will also gradually convert to CNG to cut costs and become environment-friendly.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)

Read more at: India eNews - Employees turn around Maharashtra transport utility

[YOUTUBE]

 

[Neo]

Indian inflation declines​

NEW DELHI, Nov 8: India’s inflation rate fell to its lowest level in more than five years as food staples such as fruits, vegetables and sugar declined, official data showed on Thursday.

Wholesale price inflation declined to a new low of 2.97 per cent for the year ended October 27, compared to 3.02 per cent in the previous week, according to India’s most watched cost-of-living index.

Annual inflation was 5.46 per cent a year ago but has gradually dropped from two-year highs of nearly seven per cent earlier this year.—AFP

Indian inflation declines -DAWN - Business; November 09, 2007

 

[Neo]

India sets 9pc growth rate in 11th plan​

NEW DELHI, Nov 8: While India achieved actual per annum income growth of 7.6 per cent, slightly below the target of 7.9 per cent in its Tenth Plan period, it has set overall growth rate of nine per cent in its 11th five-year plan.

According to the 11th plan draft documents, 7.6pc income growth rate each year has been fixed with an overall average economic growth of nine per cent.

During the ninth plan, India achieved the actual average growth of 5.52 per cent instead of 6.5 per cent fixed for the period.

Under the plan, an average growth rate of nine per cent, accelerating it from eight per cent in the first year of the plan (2007) to 10 per cent by the end of the plan period (2011-12) will be achieved.

“If the target for the eleventh plan is achieved, it would mean that per capita GDP would grow at around 7.6 per cent per annum resulting in broad-based improvement in living standards,” the plan document said.

Investment target has been fixed at six per cent higher in terms of proportion of GDP at 36.7 per cent against 30.8 per cent in the previous plan.

The savings rate of 34.8 per cent of GDP against 30.8 per cent in the tenth plan has been fixed.—APP

India sets 9pc growth rate in 11th plan -DAWN - Business; November 09, 2007

 

[Neo]

India’s forex reserves at $266.518bn on Nov 2​

MUMBAI: India’s foreign exchange reserves rose to a record $266.518 billion on Nov 2, from $262.45 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India said in its weekly statistical supplement on Friday.

Analysts said a part of the increase in reserves was due to the heavy intervention by the central bank to check the rupee’s rise, which hit a near decade high of 39.16 on Wednesday.

The central bank said foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms included the effect of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in its reserves such as the euro, pound sterling and yen.

The foreign exchange reserves include India’s Reserve Tranche Position in the International Monetary Fund, the central bank said.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

India’s industrial output​

NEW DELHI, Nov 12: India’s industrial output rose 6.4 per cent in September, a sharp slowdown from 12 per cent in the same month a year ago as manufacturing and power production weakened, official data showed on Monday.

The slowdown came as the central bank held a key interest rate at a four-year high of 7.75 per cent and hiked the cash reserves banks need to set aside by 50 basis points to 7.5 per cent in its latest monetary policy review in October.

India’s industrial output -DAWN - Business; November 13, 2007

 

[Bushroda]

Moving Up in Mumbai
Humble Jobs at the Mall Are Lifting Legions of Indians Out of Poverty

By ERIC BELLMAN
Wall Street Journal
November 17, 2007

As an elevator operator in a dingy apartment building, Mohamed Shaikh used to ponder ways to get himself out of his mind-numbing job and his family out of the slums. Vishal Bhatade once worked 12 hours a day cutting cloth in a garment factory for less than $50 a month. Rakesh Gundeti used to worry his family wouldn't make it after his father was laid off and his mother developed cancer.

On a muggy Mumbai morning recently, the three young men left their cramped homes in slums around the city and headed to their work stations on the top floor of a mall housed in a former textile mill. There, in the men's denim section of a Pantaloon department store, they joined an economic drama sweeping across India.

For nine hours a day, six days a week, they folded jeans, stocked shelves and explained the different styles of pants to their middle-class customers. Their wage: roughly $1,600 a year, with the prospect of regular raises and promotions -- much more than any of their parents earned and double the annual average salary in India.

At Pantaloon, they were brushing up against a lifestyle they hope to be fully part of some day.

Equipped with new cellphones, the three men took to speaking to one other in English, a language they rarely used before. They also absorbed the latest Bollywood fashion trends, buying knock-off designer jeans from street markets rather than paying Pantaloon's prices of $20 to $70 a pair. On weekends after work, they would hang outside dance clubs, anxious to see the clubbers' outfits. "I will spend money like them someday," said Mr. Bhatade.

Such basic sales jobs, unremarkable and often derided in the West, are providing careers, confidence, and a shot at entering the consumer class to millions of impoverished young men and women across India. As their ranks swell, these children of slum dwellers, servants, sweepers and others low on the socioeconomic totem pole are forming a new stratum of workers. They are likely to play an important role in determining the future of the world's second-most-populous nation.

Until recently, much of the new wealth in India went to college-educated computer programmers, consultants and call-center workers. While they have made the country's technology industry a new pillar of global commerce, the total number employed by the software industry is still only about two million -- less than 0.2% of India's 1.1 billion population. At the other end of the spectrum, India still has more than 200 million people who live below the poverty line, mostly farmers.

Between the two are tens of millions of Indians, mostly city dwellers in their 20s and 30s, who are taking their first steps into the salaried class by selling goods and services to the increasingly free-spending upper crust. They represent a kind of swing vote in how far India can spread the fruits of its rapid expansion. Annual economic growth has averaged more than 8.5% for the past four years, but much of the benefits have accrued to the old industrial families and the tech-savvy few.

In the past, less-educated urbanites had few options beyond seeking a government job (often through family connections or bribes). They would go abroad or work for wealthy families who refer to them as "delivery boys," "tea boys" and "peons."

In contrast to China, where wealth spread as rural labor moved from farming to manufacturing, India's growth is being led by a sharp rise in domestic consumption. Stronger spending power is opening up opportunities concentrated in service sectors like retailing, banking and hospitality and telecommunications.

Firm data are hard to come by, but available statistics and anecdotal evidence suggest an explosion in service jobs. The unemployment rate for male high-school graduates in the cities, for example, fell from 8.5% in 1994 to 5.1% in 2005, according to government statistics. Over the next three years, says the Images Group, a research and consulting group in India, the retail sector will create more than 2.5 million new jobs in the country. India's Reliance Industries Ltd. says it will hire close to 500,000 people to staff its new chain of supermarkets. Pantaloon Retail Ltd., India's largest retailer with annual sales of around $1 billion, hires more than 500 people a month.

"People are not despondent anymore," says N.S. Sastry, former director of the National Sample Survey Organization, the government office that tracks employment trends. "They see better employment opportunities, better earning capacities and opportunities to improve their skills."

In the brightly lit, white-walled Pantaloon jeans department, the seven-foot-high shelves are filled with denim from international brands like Lee and Pepe. It could be any middling U.S. department store, except for the Hindi pop-music videos playing on huge television screens and the photos of Bollywood stars promoting the brands.

Still, it was a completely foreign environment when the three young men first arrived several years ago. "They are absolutely raw when they come in," says Mansur Khan, the 32-year-old who trained all the department's employees after working for Pantaloon for seven years. He teaches new recruits about confidence, sales, fashion and even hygiene. "They come from an altogether different background."

Mr. Shaikh, a lanky 25-year-old with wiry hair, grew up in the slums nearby. His father died when he was ten, forcing his mother to work different jobs to raise her two sons. After sending them off to school in the morning, she made plastic buckets and cut thread for shirts in small neighborhood factories. She didn't always make enough to feed her children. The only open space for the boys to play was a nearby graveyard. They stumbled over tombstones during games of cricket.

Along with his mother and brother, Mr. Shaikh today shares a 100-square-foot home on a dark alley in a Muslim ghetto. It has a bed, a tiny kitchen and a pile of suitcases for the moves his family makes almost every year.

After high school, Mr. Shaikh had put aside his interest in college to find a job. "Once you start looking for money, you stop thinking about education."

He worked for a while in a small doctor's clinic, handing out prescriptions. The elevator operator's job, he recalls, was the worst. So four years ago, when Phoenix Mills opened -- part of a massive urban development project -- he applied at Pantaloon without even knowing what it was.

Mr. Gundeti's family is from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. But he grew up in Mumbai, where his father worked in a textile factory until his job was eliminated. Almost all of the $10,000 severance he received went toward treating his wife's stomach cancer. The family also sold its slum home to help pay for the treatment. Still, Mrs. Gundeti died last August.

The elder Mr. Gundeti now sweeps floors at a nearby television studio. He had great hopes for Rakesh, whom he named after the first Indian in space, Rakesh Sharma, who was part of a Soviet mission in 1984. But he's turned cautious about what he expects from life. "Every time we have a little hope, something bad happens," the father said as he brushed aside ants on the floor of his small corrugated-steel home.

Rakesh, 22 years old and a big fan of American pro wrestling, had a friend who worked at Pantaloon. So he applied, too.

Mr. Bhatade grew up in a small town about 60 miles north of Mumbai. For the past 15 years, his father has manned a machine that makes brown paper bags. The family lives in a 150-square-foot hut built against the wall of the factory. When Mr. Bhatade was a boy, he planted marigolds and a pomegranate tree outside their door and adopted neighborhood street cats to make the modest abode feel like a home. His parents insisted on a basic education.

"We didn't want them to suffer like we did," says his mother, Vanita Bhatade, 46 years old.

His first job after high school was at a garment factory, where he worked for more than a year. Mr. Bhatade's father told him to look for work in Mumbai, so he moved in with his uncle in a city slum. After a stint peddling credit cards door to door, a friend tipped him off that Pantaloon was hiring. He went for an interview in May of 2004 and got the job.

Immediately, Mr. Bhatade found the clientele to be a big challenge. It was the first time any of the young men had talked to people much richer than themselves. "When I came, I was very shy," Mr. Bhatade recalls. "I would watch them from afar. I couldn't even ask them what they were looking for."

The young men were often yelled at or accused of falling down on the job, as skeptical customers refused to believe their size was out of stock or got irate if the clothes they wanted didn't fit.

They'd shout, "'Who is handling this section?'" Mr. Bhatade recalls. "Who is the boss? Who is the store manager? Who is the department manager?" Mr. Bhatade would offer a simple "I am sorry."

As the longest-serving Pantaloon employee of the three, Mr. Shaikh became the unofficial assistant manager of the department, often staying late into the night to make sure his shelves and racks looked clean. "I never used to fold my clothes at home," he said with a grin.

For jeans advice, he turned to Mr. Bhatade, the department's resident expert on more than 50 types of jeans and denim. He can describe the difference between "monkey wash" and "tiger wash" to his English-speaking customers. (In monkey wash, the front of the pants is faded. In tiger wash, the fading is in horizontal stripes.)

And for light relief to break up the day, they'd pick on Mr. Gundeti, the department comic, making fun of his "funny" southern Indian accent. When he'd return late from a tea break or ask to go home early, his colleagues insisted that he must have had a date. The razzing often sent Mr. Gundeti into a faux fit of anger, making everyone laugh.

When not with customers, the three men would chat constantly about sales targets, cricket, family and movies. The managers discouraged them from bunching together on the floor, so they tried to stay at least five feet from each other as they folded pair after pair of jeans. One recent afternoon, Mr. Bhatade and Mr. Shaikh debated how their section compared to others in the store.

Formal men's wear has the highest sales every month, so employees there have a greater shot at sales-based bonuses. But denim is better than working in the women's wear departments, they agreed, because female customers are much more demanding. "They will try on each color in their size and still they are never happy," said Mr. Shaikh, laughing. "Is your girlfriend like that?" he asked Mr. Bhatade. Blushing, Mr. Bhatade walked away.

Their outside interests and social lives increasingly tilted toward Pantaloon and away from the slums. "I try to teach my friends to end their vulgar language and behavior," said Mr. Gundeti of his neighborhood friends. "They don't change, so I don't spend time with some of them anymore."

Instead, the men watch movies together or with other acquaintances from Pantaloon. Restaurant dinners are still beyond their reach, but on birthdays they pitch in for a cake and take it to the beach to eat. On a company team-building outing, they slid down water slides at a resort near Mumbai. It was the first time Mr. Bhatade had been in a swimming pool. "Most of my free time I spend with my Pantaloon friends," he said.

The store doubled as a place of worship. For a few weeks in September, a room near the denim department housed a statue of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha that was decorated with streamers and flowers and lit with a purple spotlight. Mr. Gundeti went daily to give offerings and sing religious songs. Mr. Bhatade and 30 other Pantaloon employees later carried the idol to the ocean and left it in the Arabian Sea, the traditional end to the Ganesha festival.

During Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, Mr. Shaikh and his supervisor, Mr. Khan, joined the store's other Muslim employees on the roof of the store to break their fast at dusk rather than going to nearby mosques. Each night, they kneeled among piles of boxes full of clothes to pray and passed dates and slices of watermelon as the sun set over the new mall being built next door.

While Pantaloon isn't a quick route out of the slums, the jobs, and the pay, offered something else: the occasional luxury, some financial reassurance and a large dose of self-esteem.

Mr. Shaikh used to wear irregular pieces from the factory where his mother worked -- shirts where the pockets didn't match, for example. His store job allowed him to purchase his first "branded" pair of jeans, on sale for $20. In September, he bought a computer, picking one that can also be used as a television so his mother can watch soap operas. Some regular customers started asking him for his fashion advice. "People are going for the comfort fit, not the boot cut," he said.

Mr. Gundeti has supported his father with his Pantaloon salary and taken advantage of its afternoon shifts to study computer programming in the mornings. He just bought a laptop. It cost more than a desk top but his home has no desk. His family has noticed that he isn't as hot-tempered as he used to be and that he is more "gentlemanly." His Hindi is now peppered with English phrases like "you know," and "I mean." Over the next six years, he hopes to boost his salary significantly -- enough to buy an apartment for his father.

Mr. Bhatade, too, has matured since he started working at the store, according to his parents and sisters. While he used to be shy and withdrawn, he recently planned his sister's wedding -- a huge undertaking in even the poorest Indian homes. He says he is embarrassed by the clothes he used to wear and today tries to teach his friends and his sisters about Mumbai style. Meanwhile, he has become one of the most eligible bachelors in his community, says his father, who has turned down more than five offers of arranged marriage for his son already.

Over the past month, each team member has taken new steps up in the direction of the consumer class. Mr. Gundeti earned a promotion to cashier in Pantaloon's jeans department. Mr. Shaikh left his job to start his own small business, recruiting people to work on construction projects across the Middle East.

Mr. Bhatade was promoted to "team leader," which means he will manage a group similar to his old gang in the denim department, but on a different floor. It is now his turn to teach the job to a new batch of hires from the slums.

 

[sajan]

Pride of Delhi

London Mayor Ken Livingstone with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Managing Director E Sreedharan taking a Metro ride from Central Secretariat to Rajiv Chowk in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Mr. Livingstone was very impressed with the Delhi Metro and said he would like to build several such systems in the city of London,” Londoners should travel to Delhi if they want a preview of what Crossrail will be like, Ken Livingstone said. The Mayor believes the Indian capital's modern underground system is the perfect model for the £16 billion high-speed line that is due to open in 2017.

 

[Neo]

13 Indian firms in Asia's 100 fastest-growing list​

21 Nov 2007

NEW DELHI: Thirteen Indian firms have been named in a list of 100 fastest-growing small and mid-size companies in Asia, with some emerging on top in terms of sales and capital returns.

According to 'Asia's Hot Growth Companies' list, prepared by a US-based financial magazine, India is home to a higher number of such companies than China, whose presence is limited to just eight firms. Besides, India is next only to Taiwan and Japan, which have been represented by 24 and 18 firms respectively.

There are 13 firms from Hong Kong, seven from Korea, four from Malaysia, nine from Singapore and two from Thailand.

The single firm from Pakistan is Packages Limited, a manufacturer of paper products is ranked at the 84th position.

Among the Indian firms, Lakshmi Machine Works is ranked 17th, followed by Kirloskar Brothers (18th) and Godrej Consumer Products (23rd).

Other Indian companies named in the list are Marico (40), Colgate-Palmolive India (45), Hexaware Technologies (53), GlaxoSmithkline Pharmaceuticals (60) Panacea Biotec (68), Bajaj Hindustan (72), Motherson Sumi Systems (79), Cummins India (83), I-flex Solutions (93) and Titan Industries (98).

Hong Kong-based Ajisen Holdings has been ranked at the top, followed by Raffles Education of Singapore.

In terms of highest sales in 2006, three Indian firms - Cummins India, Titan Industries and I-flex Solutions - are ranked first, second and third, respectively.

Cummins - which manufactures diesel, gas, and dual fuel engines for power generation and other industrial purposes - had sales of 498.8 million dollars, while Tata Group's Titan Industries recorded revenues of 491.2 million dollars. Information technology solutions provider I-flex raked in sales of 484.3 million dollars.

In terms of three-year average return on capital, Godrej Consumer was ranked on top across Asia with 106.7 per cent. Godrej Consumer and Marico were named as the second and third biggest companies with a return of 57.7 per cent and 57.2 per cent respectively on the basis of capital return last year.

Based on market value, I-Flex was ranked at second position with a value of about four billion dollars.

The overall list took into consideration parameters like sales, profit, capital returns and market capitalisation.

"They are in decidedly less sexy lines of business, everything from noodle shops to chemical fiber manufacturing. But these Asia stars do enjoy some big advantages, like relatively high barriers to entry and growing demand from Asia's newly affluent consumers," the magazine said.

In an accompanying report, the magazine said that annual scorecard of top 100 small and midsize businesses in the region are not high-flying dot-coms.

Tech leaders in India have been hammered by the appreciation of the rupee. "The rupee has gone up 12.6 per cent against the greenback over the past 12 months, making Indian companies catering to US customers less competitive with their foreign rivals," it noted.

Outsourcing services specialist Hexaware Technologies recorded a 22 per cent decline in profits to 6.8 million dollars in the recent quarter on account of rupee appreciation. The firm is looking to open a development centre in China next year in addition to the existing one in Mexico, the magazine added.

"Clients in the US want to de-risk" their exposure to the rupee, he says. Having employees in China would provide Hexaware "with an additional low-cost center," the company's Executive Chairman Atul Nishar was quoted as saying.

13 Indian firms in Asia's 100 fastest-growing list-India Business-Business-The Times of India

 

[Neo]

Delhi eighth expensive office space in the world​

22 Nov 2007

NEW DELHI: Mumbai and Delhi are the second and eighth most expensive places respectively in the world for renting office spaces. In terns of cost, these places are ahead of New York, Los Angeles, Geneva, Rome and Shanghai.

London West End continues to be costliest place in the world with a rental of Rs 1,080 per sq ft per month. As against this, the occupation cost in Mumbai's Nariman Point in November 2007 hovered at Rs 625 per sq ft per month and in Connaught Place in Delhi at Rs 415 per sq ft per month.

In the last one year, rentals in Mumbai increased 55% and the city jumped three places from fifth in 2006 to second in the list of most expensive office markets in the world, prepared by global consultancy firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

Rentals in Delhi also went up by 34.3%. But still, it slipped by one place to 8th position in the ranking.

However, CBRE CMD (Asia Pacific) Anshuman Magazine said this should not be treated as great news for an emerging economy like India. High rentals will act as a deterrent for investment in the country, he said, adding that the trend is a reflection of the great performance of the economy but at the same time it also shows shortage of prime office space in the country.

This, he said, will affect the growth if government does not address the problem.

Delhi eighth expensive office space in the world-India Business-Business-The Times of India

 

[Neo]

India world's best performing stock market​

21 Nov 2007

NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the world's best performing stock market in the past three months, notwithstanding the five-day plunge that wiped off close to 85 billion dollars of investors' wealth from the bourses.

The country's benchmark Sensex has lost over 1,300 points in five trading sessions pulling down the total market capitalisation of all the listed firms from about USD 1,650 billion to USD 1,565 billion during the same period.

However, an analysis of three-month US dollar return data available with the global market intelligence service provider MSCI Barra for equity markets across the world shows that Indian bourses have delivered the highest gain of 33.64 per cent during this period, thus adding over USD 400 billion to the investors' kitty.

The developed markets like the US, Japan, Austria, Sweden and Belgium have given negative returns in this period, while UK managed a modest return of 0.6 per cent.

The best performing developed markets has been Spain (18 per cent) and Hong Kong (17 per cent). But, their returns is just about half of the same on Indian bourses since August 21.

Worldwide, India is followed by Qatar, UAE and Egypt with a gain of about 28 per cent each. Among emerging markets, India is followed by Brazil with 31 per cent return, while Chinese stocks have managed to give about 17 per cent returns. But, there are others as well like Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela who have registered a fall during this period.

Since the beginning of this month, however, just a handful of markets have managed to register a positive return. Spain is the only developed market to have seen a modest gain in November (0.6 per cent), while Morocco, Egypt, Colombia and Jordan are the only emerging markets posting positive returns.

India world's best performing stock market-India Business-Business-The Times of India

 

[EagleEyes]

I thought Pakistan stock market was doing well? Did it crash again?

 

[Neo]

I thought Pakistan stock market was doing well? Did it crash again?

Won't call it a crash but business is slow due political instability...but don't worry, we'll catch up soon

 

[Bushroda]

Gulf-based property developers to invest $50 billion in Indian realty market
By Surojit Chatterjee
International Business Times
22 November 2007

New Delhi - With India's 1.1 billion population facing a shortage of 25 million housing units, according to government data, leading Gulf-based real estate companies are tapping the booming Indian realty market and, with an estimated investment plan of over $50 billion in the next two-three years, promise to transform the landscape of India forever.

While Dubai's Emaar Properties, the largest Arab real estate company, has announced that it will invest $12 billion in its joint venture with India's MGF Development Ltd., Nakheel has inked a $20 billion deal to develop townships in the country.

"We're actively pursuing a number of opportunities. I'm confident that in the next few months we'll launch our first major developments," Nakheel CEO Chris O'Donnell told Gulf News.

Gulf Finance House is spending $2 billion with its partners to develop Energy City at Navi Mumbai.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) is spending $2 billion in a greenfield site close to Navi Mumbai, near to the commercial capital’s airport, with its partners to develop Energy City India. GFH has already raised $630 million towards the initial development and infrastructure requirements of the project.

Earlier this month, the Al Futtaim Group announced that it hopes to clinch a deal in India this year to build a project similar to its $15 billion Dubai Festival City development.

Futtaim, with businesses from autos to financial services, is building the 1300 acre (526 hectare) Festival City development with shops, offices, apartments and hotels, as well as a similar $4 billion Cairo Festival City in Egypt.

The group is negotiating a similar deal in India where it will work with a local partner, Marwan Shehadeh, Managing Director of Al Futtaim Capital, told reporters.

"Ideally India could happen as fast as the end of this year," he said, declining to give details.

"The numbers of upper middle-class and rich populations are growing in India and with it the demand for quality housing is also increasing. We will tap this potential," said Hussain Sajwani, Chairman, Damac Holdings, the parent company of Damac Properties.

The $30 billion Damac Properties is planning to invest $3-5 billion to develop high-end residences, office complexes, SEZs, among other things.

"We would look to develop these properties ourselves but are also open to joint ventures with Indian companies and are presently in talks with a few of them," Sajwani said.

Damac, which has developed retail, residential and office space in the Middle East and some parts of north Africa, is eyeing Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and tier-II cities to start its projects and is confident of launching them in the next 12 months.

"The Indian market has become very expensive in the last three years but there is still a large potential for growth. The existing laws are a bit difficult presently but if they become more developer-friendly in the future, we could look at scaling up our investment," Sajwani said.

Tanmiyat Group, another multi-billion dollar company, is planning to launch composite property developments in Bangalore and other metros. Bharat Thakker, Managing Director, Tanmiyat Group, is confident of replicating its $3.8 billion Dubai Living Legends project in India.

Dubai's Deyaar Real Estate said it expected to clinch a $5 billion deal this year to build a township near New Delhi with India's Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Ltd.

Similarly, the Dubai Internet City has picked up Kochi to set up a Smart City project, and IT and media hub. The initial investment for the Smart City, being executed by the DIC management will be over $400 million. The Smart City would come up in a vast, 1,000 acres of land on the outskirts of Kochi.

Dubai-government owned Limitless is working with Indian developer DLF Ltd to develop a $12 billion housing and commercial real estate project near the technology and outsourcing hub of Bangalore.

ETA Star, which is developing 5 million sq ft of housing at Chennai and Bangalore, is looking at another 20-30 million sq ft of development in Kochi, Coimbatore and Madurai.

Both ETA Star and Dubai World’s Limitless are looking at middle and low-income housing to tap the demand-supply gap in the housing sector, which is pegged at 40 percent.

"We are following the government's policy of investing globally and India is a phenomenal market for such an investment," said Sunil Gomes, Director of Development, Istithmar, UAE. Istithmar is a Dubai-based investment holding company for foreign and local investors.

"We are looking at partnerships for residential and commercial projects. It is not just oil that is making us get cash but also we have easy access to funds from banks to make our various investments," said H. Danesh, General Manager, S.S. Lootah International.

S.S. Lootah International is the international business arm of the S.S. Lootah Group which has successfully partnered with leading international companies in developing, managing, supporting and financing some of the most sophisticated projects in the construction, industrial, telecommunications, energy, environmental research and sustainable development sectors.

"Several West Asian companies are closely looking at the Indian market due to closer geographies, traditional ties and huge potential for investments. They have all the capabilities and they will invest in the markets which will get them highest rate of returns," Anshuman Magazine, Managing Director of property consultancy firm CB Richard-Ellis, South Asia, said.

Real estate prices in India have been sharply rising over the last few years, leading to concerns in some quarters that an asset bubble could be forming. However, India's booming economy promising to grow between 8-9 percent annually and the increasing demand for all types of property - residential, commercial, retail, hotels and mixed-use - have succeeded in drawing a large number of participants including private equity funds.

The India Brand Equity Foundation estimates that by 2010, the information technology sector alone will need 150 million square feet of space across major cities, and further estimates that in the residential sector, there is a housing shortage of 19 million units across the country.