|
A
MOTLEY COLLECTION OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC NEWS |
|
|
 India’s rich club to grow 12.8 per cent by 2009
Come 2009 and India will have 1.1 million individuals with a liquid wealth of $100,000. This will be a substantial leap from the current estimated figure of 7,11,000 individuals with a liquid wealth of $100,000 or more. A study, released by financial services firm American Express, says the affluent section (individuals with assets of $100,000 or more) of India’s population is expanding by the day. In 2005, there were 83,000 millionaires in the country. This figure is expected to grow annually at 12.8 per cent by 2009. The estimated cumulative liquid wealth of the affluent section, which was $203 billion in 2005, is expected to increase to $322 billion by 2009, representing an annual growth rate of 12.2 per cent. This is perhaps not surprising considering that the entire Asia Pacific region is seeing an increase in the number of wealthy individuals (with liquid assets of $50,000 and more).
The affluent individual population in the Asia Pacific region is expected to increase to 47.6 million in 2008 from 42 million in 2005. Atul Mathur, senior vice-president, ASEAN and South Asia, American Express, believes India’s robust economic growth, combined with social factors that include growing self-confidence and increasing consumerism, is causing a dramatic change in the lifestyle aspirations of the country’s rich. “Consumers are determined to live their dreams and the marketplace is responding to them. Every day in India, new global brands are opening their doors, and indigenous Indian marketers are innovating. Competition is fierce,” he added.
|
|
|
 Wipro buys Sweden’s Hydrauto for US$ 31 million
Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN)—formerly Wipro Fluid Power—is acquiring Sweden-based Hydrauto Group AB for $31 million in an all-cash deal. The company, in a communication to the BSE and the NSE, said the acquisition is expected to be completed by Q3 of FY 2006-07, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. “This acquisition gives WIN a unique Asia-Europe footprint, a customer base built over the past few decades and deep complementary engineering skills. Being together will have a multiplier effect on competitiveness,” WIN MD Anurag Behar said. Hydrauto, based in Sweden, is a provider of hydraulic components and solutions in Europe. It is a tier-I supplier to OEMs of material handling equipment, forestry equipment, construction and earth moving machinery amongst others. For the year ended December 31 2005, the company posted revenues of $112m. It is a profitable entity with positive operating cash flows. The acquisition will give Wipro’s infrastructure engineering arm an entry into Europe. For the year ended March 31 2006, its revenues were about $57m. Hydraulic components are a global $17bn industry catering to the construction equipment, material handling, farm and industrial segments.
|
|
|
 ONGC Videsh to pump US$ 500 million in Colombia
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), will pump a further $500 million into the Colombian oil fields it acquired jointly with Sinopec. OVL and Sinopec acquired Omimex de Colombia, for $850 million in the first week of October. Omimex has since been rechristened Mansarovar Colombia in which both Sinopec and OVL have 50 per cent stake. OVL sources said the company plans to ramp up production at the Colombian oil fields from the current 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 80,000 bpd over the next 12 months.
Omimex has onshore production as well as exploration blocks in Colombia with the known reserves of 157 million barrels. Sources said the company would use the revenue generated from the oil fields to ramp up production with no fresh Indian investment from India slotted for the project. At the time of acquisition, OVL had said that production could be ramped up to 1,00,000 barrels per day, half of which would be OVL’s share. OVL had calculated at the time of concluding the deal that the revenues from the oil fields would amount to $1 billion.
Sources indicated that the current drop in crude oil prices would not affect the price of the Colombian crude as it is a heavier crude than the WTI benchmark (West Texas Intermediate - a sweet crude whose price is used as a benchmark). “Our calculations are based on a crude price of $55-56 per barrel,” the sources said. Omimex, which is registered in Delaware, entered Colombia in 1994 with the acquisition of Texaco’s 100 per cent interest in the Velasquez fee mineral property. Subsequently, it bought the remainder of Texaco’s Colombian assets, including 50 per cent interest, in the nearby Nare and Cocorna Association Contracts.
|
|
|
 Indian toy industry set to grow at 25 per cent
The $32.6-million Indian stuffed toy industry is set to grow at 25 per cent due to rising demand from India and abroad. The uncomparable quality of toys, India is producing, is unmatched elsewhere and therefore, the demand for Indian-made toys is rising by leaps and bounds. The retail value of the global toy industry is estimated at around $150 bn for 2005.
Stuffed plus toys exports from China were estimated at $1.75 billion in 2005. There are about 5,000 different designs available in India and about 50 new designs are introduced every month to meet consumers’ taste. The leading producer, Hanung Toys and Textiles Limited, alone produces toys with 4,000 designs and exports most of its products to the US and European countries. Other producers are mainly from the unorganised sector which Hanung feels cannot match when the matter of quality and designs come. The overall demand for toys and cotton made-ups is growing at 6 per cent in the US and Europe. Despite 10 per cent decline in the demand from India in the recent past, toys and made-ups manufacturers are hopeful of a speedy recovery from losses. “Our new designs are widely accepted by the US and European customers which are available through major retail chains, including IKEA, Wal-Mart, etc. and hence, we are confident that the stuffed toys industry would see a dramatic turnaround,” A.K. Bansal, chairman and managing director, Hanung Toys & Textiles, said on the occasion of the launch of the initial public offer of the company in Mumbai.
The Rs 1,000-crore Indian toy industry offers a host of products that include fun games, electronic toys, stuffed toys, educational games, toy cars etc. India faces big challenges from the unorganised sector which contributes about 70 per cent of the total toys demand. Out of this, stuffed toys contribute about 15 per cent. |
|
|
 Appointment of Mr. Kamal Sharma as Secretary General, FHRAI
Mr. Kamal Sharma has taken over as the Secretary General of the Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India ( F.H.R.A.I.). Mr Sharma succeeds Mr Shyam Suri, a retired IAS officer, to this prestigious assignment. The F.H.R.A.I. has about 3,000 members from across the country, and through a vast regional network is responsible for interfacing with Government, industry and media for the benefit of the hospitality sector. F.H.R.A.I. is 51 years old and is head-quartered in New Delhi.
Mr. Sharma brings with him fresh thinking and a distinct ability to usher in change in the hospitality sector. In his last posting as the Managing Director of the Hotel Corporation of India that manages the Centaur group of hotels and Chef Air, Mr Sharma brought about an unprecedented turnaround in his organization of 5,000 employees. From an public sector undertaking in the red for 12 years, H.C.I. became a profitable body that successfully ran a chain of five 5-star hotels and two flight kitchesn under Mr Sharma's leadership.
A highly-qualified professional who has several degrees against his name, including from the Cornell University of Hotel Management in Ithaca, New York, Mr Sharma has served in several global stations including London and West Asia. He has also been a CMD of Centaur Indo Hokke Ltd. (an Air-India subsidiary), a director with the Tea Board and Restaurants, chaired the Global Tourism Task Force and the Sana Hotels and also been a country CEO of Pausania Solutions. |
|
|
|
|
November 2006
|
|
|
|
|
|
