Other Briefings
JP Morgan to Invest US$800 million-one billion private equity in India
Oct. 6 – At a time when banks around the world are closing, filing for bankrupcy or being acquired at all time low prices, financial services firm JP Morgan's CEO Kalpana Morparia, said JP morgan will invest $800 million-one billion as private equity investment in India over the next two years across various sectors.
In India, the firm was looking at growth opportunities, both organically and inorganically, she told the Economic Times.
"India continues to evoke interest in the global market with no decrease in global investor interest in India," Morparia added.
Rice to visit India
Oct. 1 – With the nuclear deal poised for an approval by the US Congress, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit India next month to sign the 123 bilateral agreement that will seal the landmark deal.
"We are discussing the possibility of the visit of the Secretary of State to India. We have been trying it for sometime and looking for possibility of dates," Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told the Hindustan Times.
"Rice will come to India early next month. If the Congress approves the 123 pact, it will be signed during Rice's visit," an official, privy to nuclear negotiations, confirmed with the IANS.
India is Still the Second Most Preferred Destination for FDI
Sept. 25 – India has and will retain its position as the second most-preferred global destination for foreign investment until 2010, lagging only behind China, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) announced in the World Investment Report 2008, released in New York.
India Will Not Be Affected By the U.S. Downturn
Sept. 24 – In a bid to avoid letting India's soaring economy slip due to the U.S. downturn, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for strengthening "surveillance" of multilateral institutions within India.
"We need to strengthen multilateral surveillance for free market economies to function properly. For that multilateral institutions need to be strengthened," the prime minister told the Hindustan Times on board his special aircraft enroute to the United Nations General Assmebly meeting in New York.
Pakistan – India Renew Trade Ties
Sept. 23 – India is reworking and strenghtening its ties with its northern neighbors – Nepal and Pakistan.
While India and Nepal recently held landmark meetings to discuss the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty of Peace and Friendship, a decades-old pact governing bilateral relations, India and Pakistan also recently, reignited talks between the two nations.
Pushing ahead with their peace process, India and Pakistan on Monday finalised modalities to open up the Line of Control (LoC) for cross-Kashmir trade on Monday.
New Issue of India Briefing Out Now
Sept. 23 – The Autumn issue of the India Briefing magazine is now out. Subscribers can download the entire magazine for free from our website by clicking on this image.
The magazine covers India's changing and growing global stance as a manufacturing hub.Titled "Establishing Manufacturing Operations In India", the magazine features legal, tax, financial and operational guidelines, regulations and approval proceedures to simplify setting up a manufacturing unit for a foreign investor in India. The main article not only covers application proceedures and license approval processes but also tax compliances, labor laws and outlines setting up a manufacturing base in India's special economic zones.
In order to bring a practical focus to the article, we have spiced it up with two market entry case studies, specifically targetting the auto components and electronic products industries, two high growth sectors in India's booming economy.
Nepal India Forge Closer Ties
Sept. 18 – Earlier this week, India and her neighbor to the north Nepal agreed to review a decades-old pact governing bilateral relations that has been a source of friction between the South Asian neighbours for a few years now. Prachanda, the present prime minister who led the Maoist insurgency before embracing multi-party democracy led the country's first demecratic delecgation to India. Prachanda as prime minister, held talks with his counterpart Manmohan Singh on Monday, AFP reported.
Known as the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty of Peace and Friendship, it binds the two countries in a close strategic partnership and forms the basis of security and trade links, allowing landlocked Nepal access to Indian ports for commerce.
Lehman wipes off US$400 million in Valuation of Indian Companies
Sept. 16 – The ballooning crisis in the U.S. financial market is expected to have more than just an indirect impact on India. The culmination of jittery FIIs spooking Indian markets, the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America and Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy will affect a number of Indian companies.
What's more, if the trouble brewing in AIG turns into a crisis, it could spell worse news for India as AIG has a large array of interests in India ranging from the financial market to real estate.
Over the weekend the 158 year old international Investment bank filed for bankruptcy wiping off Rs 20 billion (US$400 million) from the market valuation of more than two dozen Indian companies in which the U.S. financial major holds equity investments, The Business Standard reported. The Sensex, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index recovered from a 728-point dive to close 470 points down. The dollar crossed the Rs 46-mark, as the rupee fell for the sixth day in a row. Oil prices also tumbled to below US$93.
