Mumbai

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

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

ICBC Sets Up Shop in India

Sept. 20 – China’s most valuable bank – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) – has become the first Chinese bank to establish itself in India. The bank is planning to start with an investment of US$100 million and aims to lend to corporations and cover sectors where Chinese companies have a presence such as power, telecom and infrastructure. The bank has set up an office in the Bandra-Kurla business district in central Mumbai and has appointed Sun Xiang as CEO for India. Continue reading →

Posted in FDI and Foreign Trade, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Markets, Mumbai | Leave a comment

India a Preferred FDI Spot for Euro Zone

Jun. 13 – Despite several obstacles, India continues to be among the one of the preferred destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) due to its elevated financial expansion, according to the survey of 800 executives by consultancy firm Ernst & Young (E&Y). Continue reading →

Posted in FDI and Foreign Trade, Mumbai, New Delhi | Leave a comment

RBI Hikes Interest Rates for Sixth Time this Year

Nov. 3 – India’s central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday for the sixth time this year, but said that rates will probably remain stable for the next three months.

The Reserve Bank of India, which has tightened its monetary policy the most in Asia this year, increased the repurchase rate, or lending rate, by a quarter point to 6.25 percent and the reverse repurchase rate, or borrowing rate, by the same margin to 5.25 percent. The RBI also tightened rules for residential home loans, explaining that a “sharp rise in asset prices in such a short time causes concern.” Continue reading →

Posted in Economy and Politics, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Mumbai | Leave a comment

Monorail Manufacturers Concentrate on India’s Infrastructure Boom

Apr. 12 – As the Indian economy develops, the need for massive improvements in its transportation network also increases.

With Mumbai’s first monorail service about to be launched and those familiar street level cantilevered rail lines now weaving their way above the city’s roads, other places in the country have already started taking notice. All three major monorail companies – Bombardier, Scomi and Hitachi – are setting up operations in India because of anticipated demand. Continue reading →