| FDI surges over US$ 25 billion |
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India has surged to over $25 billion in 2007-08 and the country's Foreign Exchange Reserve crossed $341 billion as of today, Mr Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry has said.
Addressing the two-day India Investors' Summit organised by Financial News in association with Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, Mr Ashwani Kumar highlighted the initiatives of the UPA government in making growth more inclusive and the emphasis laid on education and health in the context of providing skills and better quality of life.
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He said the next wave would be in the skill-based manufacturing sector. Nearly 500 delegates from business and industry registered for the event, which discussed the current social, financial and economic dynamics of doing business with India. Mr Ashwani Kumar gave a background to the reform process in India and the key drivers of India's growth.
To support his argument of the sustainability of GDP growth of over 8 per cent in the long run, he observed that India had the advantage of a huge young workforce (24 per cent of the population are below the age of 28 years, 54 per cent of the population are in the working group) and a very high savings and investment rate (over 35 per cent of GDP).
Domestic demand and investment are the key drivers of growth and therefore insulate the Indian economy to a large extent from the sub-prime crisis.Inflation, though a major concern, could be contained. The growth potential of services sector in India was enormous at $200 billion offering employment to 40 million people, he said. |
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Rent-A-Port eyes India for port,
logistics projects |
"We do not get involved in a port project unless we co- invest with the local entrepreneur. We are not consultants," Mr Gupta said talking about how different the company and its services are. "Unlike consultants, as co-investors we also share the financial risk and therefore are more responsible for the completion of the project and successful operation of the facilities in which we have a stake."
"We have combined both our strengths as financiers as well as project managements. The company acts as an antenna with infrastructure specialists (both technical and financial), who study the infrastructural investment opportunities in ports and industrial zones, inviting its shareholders to join as equity partners. It also enables developers to finance the port infrastructure while keeping it 'off balance sheet'. Mr Gupta, who was the CMD of the Dredging Corporation of India, said his company is looking at a couple of projects in the country.
Rent-A-Port expects to export large quantities of high grade limestone from its captive mines at Oman, later this year to India for steel making companies. It is a partner and operator in one of the biggest quarries in the Middle East with reserves in excess of 500 million tonnes. The company is understood to look at setting up dedicated berths for this activity in Indian coast. The company has on going strategic partnerships with the Port of Antwerp, National Railway Company of Belgium and Sea-Tech, the engineering division of Sea-Invest, which is the biggest company in Europe in designing, handling and operating of bulk cargo systems and facilities.
The company's shareholders are AVH (Ackermans & van Haaren) and CFE, who are the largest civil engineering group and construction services company specialized in real estate, mining, financial services, concessions, dredging etc. Rent-A-Port has a wealth of in-house expertise in analysis, design, construction, development and management of port, logistic and marine infrastructures as well as free trade zones, Mr Gupta said. "We go with the local investor and co-invest with them. We use the local expertise while we bring in the external expertise along with funds," he said.
"Our main focus is greenfield and brown field ports in all developing countries including India. We do the entire designing of the port, assist in tendering and also help promoters with supervision and operation of the project." One of the shining examples of the company's forte is the successful operations at Vietnam where at the deep sea port of Dinh Vu it has developed a large port based SEZ.
"We have designed, financed and supervised the project in 1999 and it is an extremely successful port SEZ facility today. As co-investor and management partner, the company developed a low lying land area of over 1,000 hectares into a modern industrial park and deep-sea port in Hai Phong, Northern Vietnam. Though its main focus is greenfield and brown field ports, the company is principally not looking at projects in the major ports of the country. In fact, we have innovative solutions for shallow ports and have designed unique solutions for bulk and oil handling at various venues across the world."
Talking about port development, Mr Gupta said that the Vietnamese are very open, and has very friendly policies and they want the projects to happen. In contrast, in India, he said, "Our attitude needs to change. As a government, you should facilitate, not hinder projects which the country needs, the locality needs."
Source : The Economic Times |
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Rich list: India to beat China in 10 years
In less than a decade from now, Indian millionaires will hold more than double the wealth of their Chinese counterparts, according to a study released on Wednesday. As a result of evolved financial markets and private enterprises unlocking value, 411,000 Indian high net worth households will be worth $1.7 trillion in 2017. In contrast, 409,000 Chinese millionaires will be worth $795.4 billion. The study, done by Barclays Wealth and Economists Intelligence Unit, predicts that the number of Indian dollar-millionaire households will increase from less than 100,000 to 4.11 lakh in a decade. Riding on the back of a large entrepreneurial class, contributions of top corporate professionals, inherited wealth and an increasing number of celebrities, India will only be preceded by the US, China, Japan, UK, Germany, France and Italy in the overall wealth rankings in 2017.
It will be ahead of several developed economies such as Canada, Spain, Hong Kong and Switzerland. Barclays household wealth index, which ranks 50 countries according to the overall net worth of the domestic sector, will see India break into the Top Ten league in 2017 from its current ranking of 14. China will climb to the third position from its present seventh position in the same period. The study further says that Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) are likely to make the most significant wealth gains in the wealth forecast of the nations under study. Thanks to a wave of initial public offers (IPOs), led by a bull market, India's markets have generated significant wealth. More than 50 per cent of the millionaires' wealth in the country lies in physical assets, including real estate, which comprises 43 per cent of the total portfolio, and gold (10 per cent).
"Composition of assets of wealthy Indians is increasingly shifting from physical assets to financial assets. We foresee huge potential in the creation of financial assets, as real estate and gold still account for more than half of the household wealth in the country," said Satya Bansal, Chief Executive Officer, Barclays Wealth, India. According to him, Indians who recently became wealthy are biased against investing abroad.
Source : Business Standard |
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Japan to invest over US$ 2.04 billion in infrastructure projects in India
Japan has committed Rs 8,582 crore as assistance to develop nine infrastructure projects in India. The assistance will help in undertaking projects such as the Kolkata metro, Hogennakal water supply project and Tamil Nadu urban infrastructure project, an official release said. The second phase of the Delhi metro project will also be funded by Japan. This is the highest-ever official development assistance by the Japanese government to India.
Negotiations on infrastructure projects like dedicated freight corridor, Chennai metro and Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor have already been initiated between the two governments. Both the governments are also negotiating to set up an IIT in India. The two have also agreed to have a bilateral currency swap agreement to meet any short-term liquidity crisis, which marks a major step in strengthening their bilateral economic relation.
India and Japan have also set up forums like the High Level Policy Dialogue on Economic Development and the India-Japan Strategic Dialogue on Economic Issues that will hold discussions annually, the statement added. The other projects covered by the latest aid include Hyderabad outer ring road project, Haryana transmission system project and UP forestry and poverty alleviation project.
Source :
The Economic Times
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Lafarge to invest
US$ 150 million to set up 10 RMC plants in India
A day after acquiring L&T's ready-mix concrete (RMC) business for Rs 1,480 crore, world's second largest cement maker Lafarge said it would set up 10 RMC plants in India each year, entailing an investment of up to $150 million. "The Indian RMC business is growing by 25 per cent every year. In order to maintain our market share, which currently stands at 25 per cent, we will put up 10 plants each year, apart from looking at suitable targets for acquisitions," Lafarge Aggregates & Concrete India Managing Director Mike Glover told reporters.
Source :
The Economic Times |
Fiat sets up central sourcing centre in India
Fiat is setting up a group purchasing office in India, the Italian car maker said on Thursday, as part of its strategy to cut costs by buying more components from low-cost centres such as India and China. Fiat, which has a joint venture with India's Tata Motors Ltd for manufacture and distribution of cars, engines and commercial vehicles, said the move would help ensure greater competitiveness and better margins.
"We are optimistic on sourcing from emerging economies like India and China," Gianni Coda, chief executive officer of Fiat Group Purchasing, said in statement. The Fiat Group Purchasing Office in New Delhi will source components for all sectors, including Fiat automobiles, commercial vehicles and powertrains, he said.
The centre will more than treble staff to 50 people by year-end from 15, he said. Fiat, which set up a purchasing office in Shanghai last year, had plans to integrate purchase of components from Jan. 1, 2008, and aims to buy 8.5 billion euros ($13 billion) worth of components from "best cost countries" by 2010, it said.
"This is a key step in the direction to achieve the group's 2007-2010 growth and margin expansion plan," Coda said. The Fiat-Tata venture in India will make 200,000 cars in four years at a plant in western India, as well as 300,000 engines and transmissions in the fast-growing market.
Source : The Financial Express
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