If there were any doubts that Indian companies were risk-averse when it came to making big-ticket acquisitions overseas, the proposed buyout of the $17.5 billion Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus by the $5 billion Tata Steel has all but cleared them. While it is possible that Tata Steel may eventually lose the deal to a higher bid from Brazil's CSN, the size of its ambition is remarkable. (Tata Steel and CSN have increased their bids twice each during the past month. CSN's latest offer is $9.6 billion; Tata Steel is expected to counter that shortly.) Tata Steel does not have ready cash to pay for the acquisition. It will have to leverage both its own balance sheet and that of Corus to finance the deal with borrowings of at least $7 billion, possibly more.

Indian enterpeneurial investments overseas are surging, if the Tata Corus deal materialises India's investments in the current year would be $11 billion as compared to $2.7 billion in 2005-06 and double of the FDI of $5.5 billion in that year. Traditionally, 60 per cent of Indian fundings abroad have been in the UK and the US. But, ONGC Videsh's recent possession of an oil field in Columbia worth $425 billion and Brazil suggest a paradigm shift in India's global mergers and acquisitions. Indian entrepreneurs funding in these unconventional markets have topped investments abroad with a total of $3 billion (Rs 13,500 crore) so far.

Indian investors have set their sights overseas due to the innumerable opportunities such mergers and acquisitions offer. The key industries that attract fundings abroad -- petroleum , metals, energy, pharmaceuticals, banking and Information Technology. The interests behind these investments are not only that they provide access to new markets, they help develop a global competitiveness, provide a catalyst to growth and easy access to new technology. Enhancing the buyers size and boosting the scale of operations is the cutting edge they provide. Further, such investments feed into the Indian econmy's appetite for industries requiring vast supplies of natural resources.

Latin America and the Caribbean are Indian entrepreneurs' flavours of the day. It's a well acknowledged fact that these countries possess umpteen underutilised natural resources -- oil fields, petroleum, gas. Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Aregntina, Trinidad and Tobago are rife with petroleum reserves. Gas is another resource found in abundance in Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago, providing long-term supplies and stable prices.

Brazil is the largest producer of iron ore producing 22 per cent of global production and Venezuela's reserves of over 4 billion tonnes are obvious choices for India Inc. to set up shop there. Inexpensive hydro electric power of these nations is an opportune site to establish energy consuming industries like aluminium and steel. As of now, it's a great opportunity for Indian investors to enter these markets -- the time is ripe because Latin American countries are seeking foreign investments in mining and other sectors for modernisation and augmenting employment. Secondly, countries such as India are more welcome than western MNCs as they mirror earlier memories of exploitation. Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina's assets are valued at half price as a result of their devalued currencies. One message is loud and clear -- Indian Inc is on the prowl.

Is this a case of Third World chutzpah? ONGC Videsh's recent acquisition, Tata's bid for Corus and Lakshmi Mittal's acquisition of Acelor are tales of India's arrival as a major player on the global stage. More and more foreign investors, bankers, private equity and hedge funds are betting on and backing Indian companies in the latter's foreign acquisitions. Both Indian acquirers and foreign sellers seem to prefer cash over stock swaps, while some have worked out ingenious financial engineering for tax breaks. India's regulatory environment for overseas acquisitions has also joined the party with a relaxed regime.