Markets

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

New Issue of Asia Briefing: An Introduction to Development Zones Across Asia

May 10 – The new issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, titled An Introduction to Development Zones Across Asia, is out now and will be temporarily available as a complimentary PDF download on the Asia Briefing Bookstore throughout the months of May and June.

The use of development zones in their different guises has been an effective model essentially brought to prominence by China over the past 25 years to help both foreign investors and domestic companies meet in a relationship that provides tax advantages to both. Development zones typically permit the foreign investor to bring component parts into a country for assembly without having to pay import duties. Investors may then add in locally-sourced components, assemble the final product, and warehouse it all duty free before then having the option of exporting the finished product (collecting some VAT rebates on the locally sourced portion) or entering the domestic market with a product assembled at local labor costs. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Featured, Markets | Leave a comment

Report: India Creativity Index Released, Delhi Among Top

May 6 – Delhi took the top spot this year in the recently released annual report from Martin Prosperity Institute measuring Global Creativity Index, called “Understanding the Creative Economy in India”.

Chandigarh, Punjab, Kerala, Goa, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Maharashtra round out the top 9, while Haryana and Manipur tied for 10th.

The report measures India’s creativity levels throughout various regions with regard to Technology, Talent, and Tolerance (the “3Ts”).The 3Ts function as a leading indicator to measure regional potential for the 28 Indian states and 7 union territories. The report also presents both the component sub-indices of the Creativity Index and other related measures related to regional technology, talent, and tolerance. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Markets, Regulatory Update | Tagged India Creativity | Leave a comment

Volvo Targeting India’s Luxury Market

Mar. 19 – In a strategic move that underlines the dawning recognition of India’s growing wealth, the auto manufacturer Volvo, owned by Geely of China, is preparing a long term strategy for the Indian market which will concentrate on luxury cars.

In a statement to news agency PTI, Volvo Auto India MD Tomas Ernberg said the market for luxury cars in India has “the potential to grow fantastically”. He further stated that the company’s growth strategy was to focus on high net individuals.

Its sales last year of 812 luxury cars was an impressive 150 percent increase from 2011. The target for next year is 1100 cars, although the company predicts that they will overshoot this goal by some 300 cars. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Business, Markets | Tagged Auto Manufacturing, India Luxury, Volvo | Leave a comment

New Issue of Asia Briefing: Expanding Your China Business to India and Vietnam

Mar. 6 – The second issue of our new issue Asia Briefing Magazine, titled Expanding Your China Business to India and Vietnam, is out now and will be temporarily available as a complimentary PDF download on the Asia Briefing Bookstore throughout the months of March and April.

As operational costs in China continue to rise, an increasing number of companies are looking at either relocating or moving part of their China-based facilities to lower cost markets elsewhere in emerging Asia. This makes sense since China itself is trying to move away from an export-driven economy and into a consumption-driven growth model.

Meanwhile, countries such as Vietnam are actively courting these export businesses through tax incentives and preferential policies similar to those that helped China get to where it is today. India, too, with its abundant, young and inexpensive workforce, coupled with a massive consumer market, is looking strikingly similar to China 20 years back. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Featured, Markets | Leave a comment

India Auto Parts Manufacturing Expanding into China

Feb. 20 – Motherson Sumi Systems, India’s largest auto parts manufacturer, is pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy and is looking to significantly increase its market share in China, Brazil and the United States. The company is already adding capacity to its China plants, which currently supply rear view mirrors, bumpers and body parts to Porsche and Volkswagen, and to its operations in Thailand, Brazil and Mexico. The company has a US$5 billion sales target for 2013.

“New volumes will come from developing countries,” said Motherson’s CEO, Pankaj Mital. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Markets | Tagged Auto Parts, India, India FDI | Leave a comment

India Proposes Curbing Foreign Tech Product Imports

Jan. 9 – The Indian government has proposed significant curbs to the importation of foreign technological products. If successfully implemented, this regulation will require a large percentage of technological goods to be manufactured locally. This plan reflects the government’s strong desire to compel foreign firms to increase their manufacturing operations in India.

While the specifics of this plan are still in draft form, it is causing much anxiety among global technological companies. To comply with this regulation, foreign firms would have to quickly establish factories within India or risk losing their current business. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, IT & Telecom, Markets | Tagged India FDI, India Manufacturing, India Regulatory, India Technology | 1 Comment

Reforms in India: Government Allows FDI in Aviation

Sept. 19 – The government of India has recently decided to permit foreign airlines to buy stakes of up to 49 percent in local carriers. This has been a highly anticipated policy move that provides for potential support to India’s debt-laden airlines by opening up a fresh source of funding.

Experts from the aviation sector believes that it will benefit only if the sector fundamentals are changed and, no foreign carrier can change that with any amount of investment. Airlines are pessimistically impacted by the sheer raise in airport tariffs (more than a 350 percent hike by Delhi Airport) and increased ground handling charges (40 percent increase announced). Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Legal and Regulatory, Markets | Leave a comment