New Delhi

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’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

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

Court Ruling Says Payment in Kind Also Subject to Tax

Aug. 4 – A recent Supreme Court decision has ruled that payment made in kind will also be subject to taxes in India.

This was based on an appeal made in court by local company Kanchanganga Sea Foods regarding its payment in kind to Hong Kong-based company Eastwide Shipping for lending the use of vessels and personnel. The Indian company gave Eastwide 85 percent of fish catch as payment. It was able to get its foreign partner official permission to fish in an Indian economic zone. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Bangalore, Chemical & Pharmaceutical, Chennai, Haryana, Location, New Delhi, Retail, Weekly Short Eats | Leave a comment

India to Consider FDI in Domestic Carriers

Jul. 8 – Authorities will soon begin talks on possibly raising foreign direct investment in local carriers to push New Delhi’s recently opened Terminal 3 into becoming an international aviation hub.

“This issue would be discussed in coming few days. A final view may be taken shortly,” Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a statement. Foreign investors are technically allowed to invest as much as 49 percent in local carriers but the government has been hesitant to allow this over security concerns. Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Legal and Regulatory, Location, New Delhi | Leave a comment

New Delhi to Launch Airport Express

NEW DELHI, Apr. 27 – As the city prepares for the Commonwealth Games in October, the impact of the huge international athletics event on its infrastructure is already taking effect as it readies the launch of its new airport express.

Next month, the government will test the first set of trains purchased from Spanish-based rail equipment manufacturer CAF and is scheduling the launch of the Airport Express Line connecting Connaught Place with Delhi International Airport in September. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture and History, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Location, New Delhi | Leave a comment

Hotel Tax Holiday Extended to July 31

Mar. 19 – The Indian government has extended the five-year tax holiday for hotel projects from March 31 to July 31 in an effort to stimulate development in the industry prior to the Commonwealth Games in October.

The five-year tax holiday previously applied to hotels finished and operational from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2010 covering two, three and four-star category hotels and convention centers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad. The new extended tax holiday scheme will continue to offer the special tax discount rates in the next five years for hotels finished by the July 31 deadline under Section 80-ID of the Income Tax Act.

Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Culture and History, Economy and Politics, Finance, Tax and Accounting, IT & Telecom, Location, New Delhi, Retail | Leave a comment

New Delhi Best City for Living

Mar. 9 – The Confederation of Indian Industries has ranked New Delhi as having the best quality of life for its residents among all cities in the India based on their latest “Liveability Index.”

After New Delhi, the next best cities to live in are Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. The survey looked at 37 Indian cities in over a decade to compute for a quality of life index. It also used hard data collected from reliable sources to eliminate the possibility of personal bias or a sampling error obscuring the reality. Continue reading →