U.S. visa pain would go beyond Indian IT giants 16 Dec 2015 Fresh attempts to restrict U.S. visas for skilled foreigners are a worry for Indian outsourcers like Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys. The measures, if passed, would hurt a crucial Indian export and damage ties with a newly open India. Any reform would cost U.S. firms too.
Pininfarina deal shows money buys taste after all 15 Dec 2015 Indian conglomerate Mahindra is paying a modest price to control the storied Italian car designer, saving it from high debt, anemic earnings and a jaded business model. As peers Ferretti and Pirelli already found, even Italian engineering flair doesn’t go very far without cash.
Foreign insurers buy protection for Indian IPOs 10 Dec 2015 New rules have allowed giants like AIA and Sun Life to lift ownership of their Indian ventures to 49 pct. With no clear path to control, that means tying up more capital in minority stakes. At least bigger shareholdings will help them retain influence if the ventures go public.
Ambani towers pact sets up Indian telco comeback 7 Dec 2015 Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications could halve its $6 bln net debt with the sale of its telecom towers. A string of recent deals - and closer ties with his richer older brother - mean the tycoon is almost ready to do battle in the next round of India’s costly mobile war.
Global taxi app alliance will test faith in Uber 4 Dec 2015 Car-hailing firms in India, China, Southeast Asia and the United States will link their apps. It’s not clear how many people will use it or how revenue will be shared. The anti-Uber coalition’s main impact may be on the Silicon Valley darling’s ability to keep raising funds.
Essar buyout exposes Indian stock market weirdness 2 Dec 2015 Minority investors approved the delisting of Essar Oil last year. Now the controlling Ruia brothers are planning to sell half the $4.5 bln company to Russia’s Rosneft. The regulator has ordered Essar to compensate investors later. It’s a bizarre outcome in which no one looks good.
Indian sale makes Bain Capital rare buyout hero 27 Nov 2015 The U.S. firm has sold its remaining $116 mln stake in Hero MotoCorp four years after investing in the world’s largest motorbike maker. In rupee terms, Bain doubled its money in four years. As private equity pours into India, it’s a reminder that getting money out remains harder.
Asian online giveaways echo past internet follies 23 Nov 2015 Chinese and Indian web groups are helping subsidise the cost of everything from manicures to mobile phones to attract users. It’s reminiscent of previous frenzies that put growth ahead of profitability. Customer loyalty may prove scarce when the money runs out.
Coal India offers cheap and dirty play on reform 19 Nov 2015 A sale of another 10 pct of the lumbering state monopoly could raise $3 bln. It’s an appealing bet on Prime Minister Modi’s reform drive, since shaking up the power sector should lift coal demand. At current prices, a decent valuation and a fat dividend would help too.
Bankruptcy overhaul could tame India’s tycoons 18 Nov 2015 A proposed insolvency code aims to tackle troubled firms swiftly, stop large shareholders from stripping assets, and limit the role of the stagnant courts. While India will need to build institutions to implement the overhaul, the days of moguls trampling creditors are numbered.
Modi chooses awkward time for UK rock star welcome 9 Nov 2015 India’s prime minister will address a crowd of 60,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium this week. Courting the diaspora makes sense. But the rapturous welcome is out of tune with UK-India business ties and a big local election defeat at home, where Modi mania is definitely over.
D-day nears for Tata Steel as Europe woes grow 6 Nov 2015 The Indian steelmaker has written off another $1.3 billion at its ailing European division. Under pressure from cheap Chinese imports, the unit’s EBITDA has turned negative. Tata will need to make tough choices about the business it bought in 2007 sooner rather than later.
StanChart shakeup turns screws on India’s tycoons 5 Nov 2015 The lender plans to offload some of its share of loans worth $3.5 bln to Essar Global. The steel-to-ports conglomerate backed by the Ruia brothers is one of India’s most indebted. It’s an overdue warning to the country’s tycoons that suppliers of cheap credit are becoming rare.
Indian telco M&A calls for closer Ambani ties 3 Nov 2015 Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications is buying the Indian unit of Sistema, giving the country’s fourth mobile operator extra spectrum. That makes indebted RCom a more attractive partner for an upstart led by brother Mukesh. A deeper alliance would seal the siblings’ truce.
Indian stock market bright spot warrants caution 13 Oct 2015 The return of sizeable IPOs is another sign Indian equities are defying emerging-market gloom. The promise of reform in the world’s fastest-growing large economy has prompted foreign investors to pile in. But high valuations leave plenty of room for disappointment.
Alibaba Indian e-commerce scramble risks conflict 30 Sep 2015 The Chinese giant is investing at least $500 mln in Paytm, India’s top mobile wallet and wannabe marketplace. Alibaba already owns a stake in archrival Snapdeal. It’s odd for competing firms to share strategic investors. Consolidation may be the best way to manage the tension.
Modi offers Silicon Valley the welcome Xi won’t 25 Sep 2015 The Indian leader is visiting California days after his Chinese counterpart met U.S. tech bosses. Though India’s economy is smaller and harder to navigate, the door is open. For foreign players, India’s promised growth may outweigh China’s giant but hard-to-reach opportunity.
India tycoons defy deflating property bubble 16 Sep 2015 Mogul Cyrus Poonawalla’s $113 mln purchase of a Mumbai mansion is a new Indian house price record. But his zeal isn’t matched by the wider market, where a correction is underway. Sales to middle-income Mumbaikars are slowing, prices stagnating, and developers are burning cash.
India beats timely retreat from fiscal tyranny 2 Sep 2015 The finance minister has retracted a flawed plan to tax foreign fund managers’ past earnings. Jittery global markets may have hastened the truce. Settling similar disputes with Vodafone and Cairn would show the government is belatedly keeping its promise to end “tax terrorism”.
Indian tycoon may struggle to save Vedanta cleanup 26 Aug 2015 A slump in the shares of Anil Agarwal’s mining group has turned the premium he was offering to minority investors in cash-rich Cairn India into a big discount. Sweetening the $1.1 bln deal is tricky. But failure will leave the Vedanta with worse options to reduce debt.