Location

City Spotlight: Bangalore

May 16 – You can easily observe India’s cultural diversity in Bangalore – the city is a melting pot of races and cultures. Located in the heart of southern India, Bangalore has a population of 8.4 million people, making it the third most populous city in India.

Bangalore is also known as the “Silicon Valley” of India thanks to the large number of software companies and the concentrated number of information technology (IT) professionals located within its territory. The state of Karnataka, of which Bangalore is the state capital, accounts for more than a third of India’s total software exports, most of which come from Bangalore-based firms. Bangalore’s booming high-tech sectors are supported by a well-educated and technically trained populace, particularly in the fields of engineering, management and various areas of science.

Bangalore, which ranked in the top 10 on India’s Liveability Index in 2012, is also called “The Garden City,” a moniker earned due to the large number of parks in the city, the city’s large horticulture industry and pleasant climate. Continue reading →

Posted in Bangalore, Economy and Politics, Location | Tagged Bangalore, India | Leave a comment

Hilton, Starbucks Add to Their India Portfolio

May 14 – Looking to further break into the Indian market, Hilton Hotels has committed to expand its mid-market and luxury brands in the country.

Hilton, which already has established various hotels in India, recently acquired an additional number of properties on which it looks to open up and develop hotels for its luxury brand, Conrad, and its mid-market brands Doubletree and Hilton Garden Inn. Hilton is also looking to introduce its world-renowned Waldorf Astoria brand to India in the near future.

“We are on equal footing with our competitors both from the perspective of the number of hotels trading and the number of hotels that are actually going to come up in the next one or two years. By the end of this year, we expect 17 hotels to be trading, and we have the second largest pipeline of hotels in the Asia Pacific region with 21 hotels in various stages of construction,” said Guy Hutchinson, Hilton Worldwide’s Vice-President of India Operations. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, Kolkata, Markets, Mumbai, New Delhi, Real Estate | Leave a comment

India Tightens Eligibility Norms for Listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange’s SME Platform

Nov. 29 – India’s Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has issued new conditions for companies seeking to list on the BSE’s small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) platform. Companies seeking to be listed on this platform through initial public offerings (IPOs) are already required to comply with the quantitative eligibility norms prescribed by the BSE. Now, however, a company’s site will also have to be visited by the exchange before being granted permission to use the name of the exchange in the offer document.

Furthermore, it is now desirable that a company files a compliance certificate by a Practicing Company Secretary. This is stipulated by the guidance note issued by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India as and when such a certificate is made applicable by the SME platform of the BSE. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Mumbai | Leave a comment

New Issue of India Briefing: Establishing a Business in India

Nov. 15 – The new issue of India Briefing Magazine, titled Establishing a Business in India, is out now and is immediately available as a complimentary PDF download on the Asia Briefing Bookstore.

Expats working in India and business people visiting the country for the first time generally agree that India is different; that it stands apart from other developing nations in the business opportunities it presents.

These opportunities are plentiful partly due to India’s sizeable population, which includes a large, young labor pool – the median age of India’s population is only 26.2 – and an attractive consumer base.

Even the challenges of an inferior infrastructure (for which India is well known) present large investment opportunities for foreign-invested enterprises, as the government is prioritizing investment in infrastructure upgrades. Continue reading →

Posted in FDI and Foreign Trade, Featured, Legal and Regulatory, Location | Leave a comment

Establishment of Branch Office/Liaison Office in India by Foreign Entities

Aug. 13 – With the objective of achieving greater transparency and procedural clarity, the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) issues the Master Circular on the Establishment of Branch/Liaison Offices in India by Foreign Entities every year on July 2 with a sunset clause of one year, laying down the eligibility criteria and procedural guidelines for setting up of branch offices (BOs) and liaison offices (LOs) in India by any body corporate incorporated outside India including a firm or other association of Individuals (“foreign entity”). The procedure for annual filings to be done by a foreign entity, and procedure for closure of BOs and LOs are also been laid out in the Master Circular. Continue reading →

Posted in Location | 1 Comment

Foreign Investors Now Allowed to Invest Directly in Indian Stock Market

Jan. 5 – India has permitted overseas individual investors, pension funds, and trusts to directly invest in equities, in an effort to shore up investor confidence and attract money from overseas to bridge the widening current account deficit.

Procedures that enhance capital inflows are high on the government’s agenda as the international downturn led by the Euro Zone Crisis has led to investors pulling money out of Indian equities. For India, the problem has been compounded by a bend in investor confidence because of policy inaction leading to a sharp fall in new projects. Continue reading →

Posted in Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Mumbai | Tagged Bombay Stock Exchange, India FDI, India Finance, India Sensex, India Stock Market | Leave a comment

India’s Top Six Cities – Free City Guides!

Dec. 22 – Asia Briefing takes a closer look at India’s top six cities (by GDP) in the newly released Indian city guides for Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. These city guides are available for free download on the Asia Briefing bookstore.

1. Mumbai
GDP: US$209 billion

Mumbai is the most populous city in India and in the top five in the world. While the 2011 census estimated population at 12.4 million, external estimates suggest double that. Continue reading →

Posted in Bangalore, Chennai, FDI and Foreign Trade, Kolkata, Markets, Mumbai, New Delhi | Tagged Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, India City GDP, India City Guides, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi | Leave a comment

Amendments in India’s Industrial Policy

Nov. 15 – The main purposes of India’s Industrial Policy of the Government are to maintain a sustained growth in productivity, to enhance gainful employment, to achieve optimal utilization of human resources, to attain international competitiveness, and to transform India into a major partner and player in the global arena.

The Policy focus is on deregulating Indian industry, giving the industry freedom and flexibility in responding to market forces and providing a policy regime that facilitates and fosters growth within the country’s industry. Continue reading →