Showing posts with label IIPM DELHI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IIPM DELHI. Show all posts

Monday, October 08, 2012

US OFFICIAL LIST OF TERRORISTS: AND AN ANALYSIS OF WHY YOUR NAME COULD FEATURE THERE

January 20, 2009, Bush leaves the White House; but before that, he ‘updates’ the ‘official’ US terrorists list. 

Corporation being preferentially allocated to China by the Chinese government.” That then “would weaken the ability of the US to influence the oil and gas supplies of the Nation through companies that must adhere to United States laws.” The CNOOC deal therefore threatens “to impair the national security,” and “the President should initiate immediately a thorough review of the proposed acquisition, merger, or takeover.” From Dubai Ports to Singapore’s Temasek, all investments by foreign countries have faced similar opposition in the US.

Clearly, when the US drains out oil from Iraq, then it’s not a problem the Pope should worry about, but if some other country goes in for a legal acquisition of a powerful US company, then Nostradamus inferences are redrawn to ensure that such moves are nipped even before the bud is born. If Iran is the latest to face the brunt of Mr.Bush’s rottweiler-like attitude – who wants the world to stop trading with Iran completely – what is not often told is the fact that there are several Israeli companies, like Medent [quoting Steve Rodan, Jerusalem Post Service] who do brisk business running up to hundreds of millions of dollars at the same time with Iran.

Bush might be leaving on January 20, 2009; but has ensured that NCTC stays in absolutely safe hands. The current NCTC Director, Michael E. Leiter, is pretty well qualified. One hears that just a few handful of years back, Mr. ‘well qualified’ Leiter served as the Dy General Counsel and Assistant Director of the US President’s Commission on “US Intelligence Capabilities Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction!” Gotcha Elvis!!! Rock on!!!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Saturday, October 06, 2012

Satyen Gupta, former Principal Advisor, TRAI

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) played a pivotal role in the great Indian telecom success story. The body keeps a close watch on the quality of services offered by the telecom operators to millions of wireless subscriber. However, there is little that the regulator can do when it comes to implementation of these norms on the ground level. Former Principal Advisor to TRAI Satyen Gupta spoke to Akhilesh Shukla about the MNP and regulators role in implementation of QoS norms.

B&E: How you will rate the present QoS of the telecom services in India?
SG: The QoS of the telecom operators has never been upto the mark. TRAI has not enough teeth to force the telecom operators to match the QoS benchmark laid by the regulator. Operators also did not see any incentive in investing in upgradation and maintenance of quality of services, due to the falling margins. Besides, issues related to building up a new base station were always there. Operators face several hurdles in putting up base stations, especially because of the rules and unrealistic taxes laid out by the local development bodies. Improper spectrum management has lead to a crunch leading to network congestion. But now MNP will force operators to improve QoS.

B&E: Some of the telecom operators do not meet the quality of service norms in some circles. What is the action that a regulator can take in that case?
SG: Telecom regulator TRAI has a very little role to play when it comes to implementation of QoS norms. The maximum that the body can do is to bring out the QoS report in public, making consumers aware of the telcos not meeting the minimum norms set by the regulator. It can also recommend cancellation of license, but the final call lies with the Department of Telecom, the body which issue licenses. TRAI can penalise the operators also, but it is a cumbersome process as the regulator has to court of law.

B&E: After 3G and MNP, what is the next step you see in Indian telecom?
SG: 3G spectrum auction and role out of 3G services by private and PSU operators was one of the biggest landmarks in the Indian telecom success story. Implementation of MNP would be another milestone in the second largest telecom market. Now, it is the right time for the country to look forward for Next Generation Networks and Next Generation Access technology. Both the technologies will provide better and faster internet speed to subscribers. It would also be helpful in bridging the digital divide between the rural and urban part of the country.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


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Friday, October 05, 2012

MOVIE PRODUCTION HOUSES: INVESTOR DISINTEREST

Soon after the Economic Liberalisation, It became almost Impossible to lose Money in the Movie Making Business due to The Rise of Multiple Revenue Streams. However, Despite Delivering Blockbusters, Dalal Street largely remains Disinterested in These Stocks.
 
One of the possible reasons for investors turning blind eye is the lack in consistency of cash flows. In the notoriously fickle business of movie making, consistency in profits is what would attract investors. However, our production houses have time and again failed to explain the exact nature of profits. Mahendra Swaroop, Vice President, Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA), says, “Although listed, Indian movie production houses are mostly non-corporatised. They have no formidable approach of tracking profits except for box office performance because they are not present in the end to end value chain.” Compare this with the case in US and the US investors share an everlasting relationship with Hollywood. The combined market cap of Walt Disney, Time Warner and Newscorp stands at a staggering $150 billion. Walt Disney alone is valued at $64 billion, around 5 times the size of the entire Indian media and entertainment industry. Even the recent MGM collapse, despite its James Bond franchise, is purely because of visible fundamental debt and loss aggregation issues.

In fact, globally, media and entertainment is a relatively lucrative sector for all kinds of investors ranging from private equity to individual ones. But back home in India, the case is quite to the contrary. The total market cap of stocks listed on the BSE is $1 trillion. Out of this, the market cap of media and entertainment companies is roughly 1.1% amounting to a mere $11 billion. And this is where the opportunity lies for Indian movie production houses, which have a great future provided they decide to be present in the entire value chain (as against the present form where the distribution rights, music rights et al are dispersed). This will help investors too in understanding and realising the true worth of the scrip and the company– a traditional happy ending for both. Till then, our production houses will continue to languish in the forgotten alleys of Dalal Street.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Monday, September 10, 2012

Lack of long term strategies

Post the frenzied activity that begins in any sector opened up in the Indian Economy, many entrants, including the larger ones, lose out due to lack of long term strategies and inability to adapt to business dynamics. Ultimately, market forces take them off road, putting paid to all the aspirations that convinced them to enter the sector in the first place

The same has been the case in the insurance sector, where the state-owned Insurer LIC stands tall among its counterparts with close to 73% market share (as of September 2010) and 22 players are fighting for the remaining 27% market share. Clearly the market hasn’t picked up like it was expected (one wonders about the possible scenario when the new banking licences are issued, currently sought by a number of players). There were even forays made by a number of players in the IT and BPO space, but players like L&T & Birla failed to make a mark. For that matter, even steel has proved to be an El Dorado in India. Some Indian steel players may beg to disagree, but ask an Arcelor Mittal or a Posco and brace yourself for ayes galore! Players entering the power sector face innumerable constraints in terms of infrastructure, raw material, labour, et al, ever since they entered the sector to take advantage of the new electricity policy. The list goes on.

The fact is that new entrants come into the sunrise sectors solely on the basis of potential. However, only a few years later, they realise that success in the respective sector may be too elusive due to competition, market readiness, regulatory hurdles, infrastructure constraints, et al. If they have gone too far to start afresh from square one, they are left with no option but to move out. Resources can sustain them to an extent, but industry dynamics can take no time to overwhelm them if they are not prepared. And then there is no sense in putting more good money where the bad disappeared! B&E provides an in depth analysis into four major sectors that are giving every indication of being future El Dorados, even as the players remain engaged in a relentless battle in the hope that they won’t be the chosen ones for capitulation.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Saturday, September 08, 2012

Feed me right!

Whether or not your baby will grow up to be an obese Adult, is partly in your hands!
 
Every son or daughter would vouch for the fact that one of the primary aims of parents, especially mothers, is to stuff them with all possible food available, world hunger and poverty be damned! And as a helpless tot, all you can do is burp. But here is something they would love their parents to read; now if only they took time off from making all those meaningless noises to get the li’l one’s attention! Researchers at the Institute of Child Health, London, have reported that 20% of adult obesity is caused due to this attitude and the practice of over-feeding in infancy.

Throughout the years, doctors have been voicing the benefits of breast-feeding, and besides the reasons of higher immunity being developed through breast-feeding, research now reveals that with bottle and formula feed, the baby ends up consuming more food than is required, which in turn results in them developing larger appetites. And with the development of a large appetite, there are more chances of the baby growing into an over-weight adult.

Priya Vashisht gave birth to a baby boy five months ago. After two months of rest, she rejoined work. On enquiring about her baby’s food routine, Priya said, “I had switched to bottle-feed after three months of my delivery. Breast-feeding is a tedious process. Also, now that I’m in office during the day, it’s easier with the bottle. And when we have easier options, why not?” Priya isn’t the only woman with this thinking, for there are many more like Priya who prefer to switch to easier options of feeding the baby, much sooner than the recommended period. 



Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Lesson #2: A great Dealership and Retail Presence means half the products sold already!

Arvind Saxena, Director, Sales & Marketing, Hyundai Motors India explains the importance of dealers to Hyundai’s Indian operations and his company’s expansion plans to B&E’s Pawan Chabra

There is no denying the fact that over the past decade, Hyundai has always been regarded as one of the strongest competitors to the market leader (Maruti Suzuki) in the Indian market. There was a time, when the Indian auto fraternity was only abuzz with tales of Maruti, its affordable offerings and a strong distribution and service network. Hyundai challenged their dominance by rolling out its blockbuster Santro and building a robust distribution system in the country. Arvind Saxena, Director, Sales and Marketing, Hyundai Motors India, explains to B&E how the company’s distribution (retail) network has been the secret spice that helped cook the success dish for Hyundai in India.

B&E: There was a time when car manufacturers in India were disinterested to build world-class retail outlets. The outlets were simply places to close a sale, with inadequate/bad infrastructure and almost no displays of vehicle models. The situation has changed today. What prompted the change?

Arvind Saxena (AS): I think the first reason to that will be that the volume in the industry has grown manifold over the past years. This has given the dealers the confidence that the investments in infrastructure of their auto retail outlets are good bets. Secondly, the dealers in the recent past and today also expect that the market will continue to grow strongly even in the future, which again encourages them to invest more to match the quality and volume that helps them keep pace with the growing market.

B&E: But you mentioned nothing about the evolved demands of the Indian consumer, who has over time displayed an increased appetite for superior ambience at any retail outlet?

AS: The Indian consumer has surely moved on with times and is today, certainly more mature than he was a few years back. Since the very beginning, we also have been quite aware of this fact, and being a strong competitor in the Indian auto market, have constantly worked towards aligning ourselves as per the demands of the consumers.


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Saturday, September 01, 2012

Sunny Gaur, Managing Director, Jaiprakash Associates Limited

You have a captive power capacity of 227MW. How important and beneficial this has been for you? Any plans to expand it further in near future?
The existing captive thermal power plants have reduced our power cost from `406 PMT in 2001-02 to `293 PMT in 2008-09. We are now planning to expand it further to 702 MW by FY12.

So far coal has been one of the key raw material and low coal linkages can impact your production units. Keeping that in mind, some players have started switching over to alternate fuels. Do you have any plans on this front?
We feel use of alternate fuel in India is still at a nascent stage. In our Group, we already have provisions to use lignite in our Gujarat plant and are evaluating usage of tyre. However, in the Indian context, usage of tyre is an area, which still needs of lot policy change.

Jaypee Cement, at present, is quite aggressive on capacity expansion. Would you like to share your expansion plans with us?
The increase in capacity will come from the group’s Greenfield projects in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Would you also consider inorganic route for expansion?
We are open to evaluate any such opportunity that may come our way. As on date Jaiprakash Associates Limited is the only company in India, which has taken over a plant declared as a sick industrial unit and successfully scripted a turn around story by restructuring the entire plant. We are open to such options.

You are looking at an investment of around `100 billion for capacity enhancement. How are you planning to fund it?
The investment to be done over the next 3 years aims at increasing our production capacity to 50 MTPA. The proposed investment will be funded through an optimum mix of debt and equity.

What is your prime target at present?
Achieving 34 MTPA installed capacity is our first target now. To achieve it we are now working on our new cement plants across the country.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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Friday, August 31, 2012

INDIA’S 100 MOST PROFITABLE COMPANIES

Global Investment Guru Jim Rogers, who Co-Founded the Quantum Fund along with George Soros (The Fund Returned 4,200% in ten years, as compared to the S&P 500’s 47% in the same duration), believes that commodities are a strong investment avenue for indian firms, and that the govt. should cooperate to make india inc. more profitable

Then again, Indian tourism also has a bright future, as even the Chinese can come to India easily now for the first time in 300 years and tourism can be of great potential especially when there is peace between India and China now. The natural resources in India especially mineral wealth ensure a great future and with reforms coming up in infrastructure and the promises made by the government on infrastructure, therein lies a huge potential. If India finds competent companies to look on and manage these sectors, all of them have a very bright future.

But, India is failing to attract investors because no one wants their money to be blocked, as investors will never want to move their money out of US or Australia to a country like India where their money is almost trapped. Bonds are one of the best investment options and I really want to look up to the bond market in India, but it is not open. India has a huge population and many people can invest in bonds but the problem lies in the fact that the currency is not convertible and rigid barriers to entry of foreign investors does not allow the Indian bond market to open up properly. It is one of the best times to open up the bond market, making India a hot investment destination and Indian companies the biggest profit making corporations in the world.

For that to happen, India must open up to capital account convertibility, which is of great significance to corporates around the world. India should actually develop an offshore bond market as most of the Indian citizens don’t have money offshore, and it’s really strange that India still has a non-convertible currency. Indians are investing all around the world but there has to be some money that should even come to India. And investors will always take it as a great opportunity, if they allow reforms. The politicians in India should actually realise the benefits of currency convertibility in a globalised economy. And with the sovereign debt crisis going on in the Europe, investors are sure to move to countries which are not in trouble, and India is certainly a big destination for these investors, as they will prefer their money to be safe in a developing economy than a debt-shadowed economies like in EU.

There is a strict need of reforms in the Indian system to make it a hot destination for the investors. India has a debt to GDP ratio of almost 90%, which is actually alarming and studies show when you reach that level, you do not grow significantly and you have trouble attracting anyone. In India’s case, debt is going to rise continuously. Even if you look at the government’s budget projections, debt is going to rise for the years to come. Without some tap on debt and the non-convertible currency, its surely a big problem for Indian companies to dream about a windfall of profits, as there would be no investments. So while China will continue receiving all the FDIs, India will have to be satisfied with just FIIs. India as a whole and Indian companies should look at various smart strategies to build upon their bottomlines. But they need government cooperation too. The first thing is to look at core strong sectors and encourage the foreign companies to invest in the country. Believe in core sectors, reforms, equity and bonds, and profits will automatically follow.




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Friday, August 24, 2012

AFGHANISTAN: THE $1 TRILLION LOTTERY

The US has announced the discovery of minerals apparently worth $1 trillion in Afghanistan – the IIPM Think Tank believes much of this made up value is balderdash and pure hogwash forwarded by the US

There’re three reasons for the June 2010 re-branding of old news. First: when it comes to fragile governance, the Afghan government is already a top contender. It is today standing on legs largely because of foreign aid, which is over 70% of its budget. Undoubtedly, the announcement of this discovery will give Karzai – who has recently mended fences on his own terms with Obama – a new lifeline in his fragile political career, as he would be able to wishfully promise the mineral rich regions to tribal chiefs and Taliban representatives. Second: the announcement will give an excuse to the US to postpone their decision of withdrawing troops out of the country. Third: the US has been trying hard to figure out ways to attract foreign investment into the region. The announcement will jump start the proceedings. One can easily visualise deals being signed under pure promises and conjectures than on realistic data – leading to future litigation.

There is a huge downside for Afghanistan due to this announcement. Mineral and oil discovery announcements have led to social unrest in various countries; and Afghanistan is a country that is still struggling to come out of a war like condition. African nations like Ghana, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Nigeria and Sudan saw a decade long violence and civil unrest after similar discoveries. An analysis of the top oil rich countries would show that around 10-12 nations in the top 50 list are unstable. For Afghanistan, the announcement would exacerbate the ongoing power politics. If on one hand the local clans, Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the likes will fight a bloodying conflict to tap these supposed resources to fund their anti-social missions, then on the other, China, which last year grabbed the Aynak copper mine in Logar, would leave no stone unturned to expand its influence over the region and country in particular.

All this is not to say that there are no reserves – of course, there are. But in all probability, only around 1/5th of what has been announced – which anyway would be exploited by US firms. It’ll take decades for other investing companies to realise they’ve been had. By then, Obama will be out of power, and Afghanistan will no more be a priority.




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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Cooking-up new rules for the game!

The introduction of the word ‘career’ in the lives of women is swiftly redefining the virtues of a good relationship for today’s new-age couples…

“Shalabh was asked by his mom if the girl he had chosen for marriage would let go of her pursuit of happiness through lifework (read career) whenever needed, and he immediately replied in the affirmative to avoid further discussion,” recollects 30-year-old Priya Madaan when talking about the over-rated virtue or vice (depending on which school of thought one subscribes to) of women’s decisions regarding their work-life that gives them a high in life. Today’s women are caught between the traditional people, who are utterly disdainful of women who choose their careers over becoming the 24/7 homemaker and support system for the family even when there are no financial constraints, and the other more modern people, who are instead frowning upon the ladies giving up their work-life for the simple pleasures of life such as one’s marriage, motherhood or for simply managing the household.

25-year-old Shruti Bhatia, a recipient of the excellent performer award, quit her job at the mere confirmation of her eight-months-later wedding date. Unusual in the professionals’ world, the simple reasons, tells Shruti “of wishing to make a home, socialise more with old and new families and figure out a comfortable way of pursuing a career” invited surprise and criticism from those who for a decade or two have only epitomised the ‘perfectly juggling’ avatar of women.

But what Shruti did is somewhat closer to what 41-year-old Jennifer Wilkov and 42-year-old Kimberly Mylls, authors of a recent book, Boys Before Business: The Single Girl’s Guide to Having It All, suggest. Advising the wives (as well as the husbands) to ‘put themselves first, their relationship second, and their career last’ for having a lasting relationship, the authors feel that this way the women would actually perform better because of the love and comfort back home. So, according to the authors, staying late at work and cancelling a scheduled date with the spouse to stay behind the desk for longer are actions that must be avoided! Also, the advice usually given to men apply equally to career women – do not bring workplace problems back home with you!

While one may crib about the title of the book that anticipates how most often women are required to put the men first and not vice versa, there are a lot of privileges that women enjoy and men don’t complain about. For instance, several organisations in our country allow women comfortable work hours. “Lesser number of working hours for women is not a part of our mainstream Human Resource policies, but my team manager with the help of HR has revised my working hours to suit my responsibilities and priorities at home. This hasn’t affected my performance at all. In fact, I am more focused and grateful to my organisation because of this concession at work,” says 33-year-old Shweta Pandey (name changed) working in the sales division of a Telecom company.


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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

SMOKING: BANNING PRODUCTION

Smoking regulation has achieved some success; but it is pathetic that governments don’t have the honesty and sincerity to completely ban cigarette production globally – it’s clear how well money and lobbying works

The true return of this booming business is evident in the fact that in every eight seconds, tobacco use claims a victim in some part of the world. That means around 5 million deaths annually. Moreover, trillions of filters, filled with toxic chemicals from tobacco smoke, pollute the environment as discarded waste every year. Realizing the importance of controlling this menace, many countries have laws in place to ban advertising and any kind of promotional activities related to smoking. Despite this, a 1998 survey found that tobacco companies were among the top 10 advertisers in 18 out of 66 countries surveyed.

Thus anti-smoking policies have worked to reduce tobacco consumption; but it is still a serious issue that needs to be brought under control. In such a situation, it is often debated whether banning the tobacco production itself as a policy decision would deliver the desired results. There are complications on this front. Chinese counterfeit cigarette production reached an unprecedented 400 billion cigarettes a year, enough to supply every US smoker with 460 packs a year in just one decade since 1997; making Yunxiao the “illegal cigarette manufacturing capital of the world.” Also, there is a case of a conflict of interest, since the tobacco industry funds government treasuries massively every year.

To ban cigarette production will not only need strong political will, but as the 2005 movie Thank You For Smoking clearly showed, will need a lot of honesty – with the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement between four largest US tobacco companies and 46 US states, which freed the companies of liability due to harm caused by tobacco use – being a shocking example.


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