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Sirs Saviour
If this were medieval Europe and Yashwant Sinha not India's Finance Minister, but Henry the VIII, two knighthoods would have been conferred in recent days. One on Tata group head honcho Ratan Tata and the other on troubled Mahendra Nahata of the Delhi-based hfcl. Reason? They are two brave warriors who've jumped in to rescue Sinha's distressed disinvestment programme. Tata snapped up the state-owned CMCc (Computer Maintenance Corporation) for Rs 152 crore, and Nahata acquired a 74 per cent stake in Hindustan Teleprinters for Rs 55 crore. Otherwise, the finance minister might have closed the calendar with no sale to show.
Despite the twin success, it is unlikely that Sinha will meet his disinvestment target of Rs 12,000 crore for 2001-02. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), which is up for sale too, will receive money bids in December this year. Somehow, the signs aren't too encouraging. Of the six original bidders-A.V. Birla Group, Videocon International, Bharti-Singtel, Reliance, Tata, and a BPL Communications consortium-only the last three are in the running. Besides, if Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan keeps his promise of allowing internet telephony by April next year, VSNL's lure as the sole international long distance service provider will weaken. The other PSUs-such as IPCL, IBP, Indian Airlines, Air India, and Maruti Udyog-on Sinha's plate could fetch Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 6,000 crore. But the point is none of these seems close to getting sold. Sure, Maruti Udyog does, but it may rake in much less than the Rs 3,000 crore the government expects. The other PSUs on the list are still waiting for suitors to publicise themselves. For example, in the case of IPCL, a clutch of bidders, including Reliance, Dow Chemicals, Indian Oil, and Exxon are rumoured to exist. Yet, a serious bid hasn't been forthcoming. Any takers for King Sinha's knighthoods? Straight Suit
Even a war could not stop author, consultant, and speaker Peter Block from making his seventh trip to India this month. So just what was this gripping trip about? A leadership summit hosted by Anil Sachdev's Grow Talent. Says Block: ''I have come to India to change my mind. It is both a social agenda and an eye opener for me.'' Till date his experience in India has been limited to the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketers' Federation (GCMMF), better known as Amul. He worked with the National Dairy Development Board helping the cooperative manage the transition in leadership, with its long-time chief Verghese Kurien leaving. His take on management in India? It's good, but don't ape American fads blindly. He asks companies to be wary of management consultants-or as he put it, ''mosquitoes that carry business fashion statements to India.'' Guess he didn't make too many friends at the leadership summit. Family Man
For a man painfully media shy, dressing up in a tuxedo and handling all the media glare at the 12th Annual World Conference of the Family Business Network in Italy last fortnight must have been difficult. But M.V. Subbiah, third-generation patriarch of the Murugappa Group, did that with panache and, justifiably, pride. For, he was in Italy to receive the IMD, Distinguished Family Business Award 2001-a first for any business family in Asia. IMD, which is a top-notch business school, gives away this award every year to a company that combines ''traditional values with professional management.'' Over the last two years, Subbiah has been busy minimising the family's role in day-to-day running of the group. Instead, the family sits on a ''corporate board'' that sets the strategic direction for the group. Says M.M. Murugappan, eldest of the family who received the award: ''We believe that the world will know of us through the institutions we have nurtured, rather than the wealth we have created.'' Indeed. |
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