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| KWANG RO KIM: Bargaining
power |
These
are perhaps the toughest words yet to come from the otherwise mild-mannered
CEO of LG Electronics, Kwang Ro Kim. The provocation? It's
the vat thing again, or rather the UP state government's interpretation
of it. The government has decided to charge vat on components and
finished products at the same rate of 12.5 per cent. The Korean
consumer electronics giant is threatening to move its manufacturing
unit out of Greater Noida, unless the UP government lowers the tax
on raw materials to 4 per cent like some other states such as Karnataka
and Tamil Nadu. LG buys Rs 750-crore worth of components a year
in the state and the 12.5 per cent tax on these is hurting. UP had
better beware; other states have their eye on LG. Karnataka has
already made an attractive relocation offer.
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| RAVI UPPAL: Swedish ambassador |
Cause and Effect
What can 22 years of service to a nation's businesses
fetch? Nothing less than the knighthood. That is, if you are Ravi
Uppal and the nation is Sweden. And so, the 50-year-old Uppal
has been conferred the ''Royal Order of the Polar Star'' for having
spent most of his working life promoting Swedish businesses-first
ABB, then Volvo, and now again ABB, where he is the VC and MD. ''I
sincerely believe that India and Sweden have tremendous potential
for mutual growth,'' says the new Officer of the Order. Indeed.
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| O.P. LOHIA: Spreading wings |
Flight of Phoenix
As if rescuing his company from a near-death
experience wasn't a feat enough (See BT, February 16, 2003), Indo
Rama's O.P. Lohia is itching for bigger battles. Last fortnight,
the 52-year-old Lohia announced the acquisition of an integrated
bottle grade pet resin facility in the US for Rs 200 crore. The
acquisition-the first of its kind and done in association with Lohia's
brothers A.P., based in Thailand, and S.P., based in Indonesia-will
rightaway add another revenue stream to Indo Rama. Besides, ''it
will help us access the US market for our other products,'' says
Lohia. The phoenix has just raised its head some more.
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| A. JAYATHILAK: Safe hands |
Carry On, Doctor
Okay, quick: which is the biggest waterfall
in India? which state has the maximum forest cover in the country?
These could very well be the questions A. Jayathilak, an
avid quizzard himself, asks when he hosts a quiz show next. But,
for now, the trivia form the opening slides of a PowerPoint presentation
that the former Kerala Tourism honcho uses to hardsell the newly-created
state Chhattisgarh's tourism potential. Now on a three-year deputation
to Chhattisgarh, the medical doctor's desire to build a tourist
destination from scratch is intact. ''Unlike Kerala, we want to
develop Chhattisgarh as a high-value, low-volume destination keeping
in mind the state's fragile ecosystem,'' says Jayathilak. Surely
the health of the state's tourism is in good hands.
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| MANOJ KOHLI: Climbing the corporate ladder |
Lucky Break
If only there were more jobs going around like
his. Within five months of joining Bharti Tele-Ventures, Manoj
Kohli has moved up a step as President, Mobility. Going by Bharti's
hierarchy, that makes Kohli-who had to quit his previous job at
Escotel after differences with the promoters-the operational head
of all of Bharti's wireless services, including 16 cellular circles
and 3 million subscribers. Quite a jump, Mr Kohli.
Role Model
At 74, P.R.S. 'Bikki' Oberoi is reliving the
age of innocence. Apart from breeding 10 horses in his 55-acre Kapashera
farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi and gunning for partidges and
pheasants in the Scottish countryside, the Chairman and CEO of East
India Hotels has a new accomplishment-the Lifetime Achievement Award
at the Sixth International Hotel Investment Forum. Says Oberoi:
''I feel honoured that the new hotels initiative has paid off this
way.'' Undeterred by the war in Iraq and killer flu in Asia, Oberoi
is budgeting for a normal financial year ahead. Power of the brand?
-contributed by Suveen K. Sinha, Shailesh
Dobhal, T.R. Vivek & Moinak Mitra
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