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The government is planning to introduce a single uniform FDI policy.
The objective is to enable easier administration of investment inflows.
Officials point out that the rationalisation of FDI norms will provide
for exemptions in certain sectors. The process is likely to raise
the FDI level in certain industries, sources point out.
Hopefully, the process will raise the FDI limit in several sub-sectors
as well.
-Balaji Chandramouli
LPG: MARK TO MARKET?
This could well pave the way for large-scale private participation
in the LPG retailing business-the Planning Commission has recommended
that subsidised LPG should not be provided to consumers who pay
taxes. Their argument could pass muster with the political class
since only 3.6 per cent of the population pays taxes. Yes, the tax
payer's cooking gas bill will rise by 50 per cent but it will improve
the health of the exchequer. Balaji
Chandramouli
NEWSMAKER
ANIL GUPTA
It's not exactly David versus goliath, but when you buy a company
one-and-a-half times your own, and in the process make the largest-ever
acquisition by an Indian electrical products company, it does
make news. "Yes, we were definitely inspired by the Tata-Corus
deal; that gave us the confidence to go ahead with this buyout,"
admits Anil Gupta, Joint MD, Havell's India, which recently bought
the Frankfurt-based $594-million (Rs 2,613.6 crore) SLI Sylvania
for $300 million (Rs 1,320 crore) in an all-cash transaction.
The deal, which took three months from the start of negotiations
to sealing, gives Gupta a strong presence in 40 international
markets, along with Sylvania's 10 manufacturing plants in Europe,
Latin America and Africa.
Following the acquisition, which is expected to be completed
by April-May, the Rs 1,600-crore Havell's is also planning to
re-introduce the Sylvania brand in India, possibly within this
year itself, informs Gupta. Havell's, of course, is no stranger
to the M&A game, having acquired quite a few players in the
Indian electricals industry, including Crabtree India. "It
is not that we are only interested in buyouts; we are looking
at both organic and inorganic growth but if you want to be a global
player, growing inorganically makes more sense as it is more cost-effective,"
says Gupta, whose father Qimat Rai Gupta founded the company.
What this deal does is to catapult Havell's into the billion-dollar
revenue league; and two-thirds of its revenues will come from
international markets. That's quite a long journey for a company
that traces its origins to a small trading concern in Delhi's
Bhagirath Palace wholesale electrical parts market.
-Tejeesh N.S. Behl
NUMBERS OF NOTE
Rs 22,000 crore: The amount Indian firms donated to charity
in 2005-06
Rs 24,816 crore: The value of the food and beverages market
in India; cooking oils comprise a fifth of this figure
99.4 million tonnes: The amount of crude oil imported by India
last year
$3 billion (Rs 13,200 crore): Losses incurred by PC gaming companies
the world over due to video game piracy
100 million tonnes: India's projected annual domestic coal production
from captive blocks in the next five years
35 per cent: The growth in France's wine exports to India in
2006
Rs 88,000 crore: Estimated size of India's fragmented matrimony
industry. Just the matchmaking component-not counting the wedding,
obligatory gifts and parties-is about Rs 1,320 crore
16.6 per cent: Urban Indian women engaged in gainful economic
activity, the highest in 25 years
$17 million (Rs 74.8 crore): The per capita wealth of each citizen
of Abu Dhabi, the richest city in the world.
946: The number of billionaires around the globe, according
to the latest Forbes ranking. With 36 billionaires, India has
overtaken Japan, which has 24, as home to the most billionaires
in Asia
9 per cent: Share of total GDP that China spends on public works.
India spends less than 4 per cent
9.2 billion: The projected world population in 2050
$925 million (Rs 4,070 crore): The amount Ford Motor Co. is
selling luxury car maker Aston Martin for to a group led by former
Benetton and BAR motor racing boss David Richards
10.9 million tonnes: India's total mango production
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