Blogs >> Education & Books >>
IT firms first started trend of going out
The process of acceptance of Indian companies
overseas was over and done with several years ago. One can better appreciate
this by noticing that outward FDI flows from India, which were to the tune of a
few million dollars in 2000 jumped to $4.3 billion in 2005 and further to $9.9
billion in 2006. In 2007, Indian investment abroad totalled $32.8 billion.
FICCI studies show that even in 2008, when the global economy came under fire
due to the US subprime crisis, Indian companies invested close to $13 billion
abroad.
One must also note that while the trend to ‘go out’ was initiated by companies
from the IT sector, over time companies from across sectors—pharma, chemicals,
automotive, mining, oil and gas, FMCG, textiles, gems and jewellery—joined the
league of overseas investors. Even Indian SMEs have not been shy of taking the
overseas investment route to strengthen their competitiveness.
Of course, we must give credit to enabling policy changes and to suitable
legislations which made these global investments by private and public
corporations possible.
Today, one can say that the presence of Indian companies across nations is a
given. In the post meltdown corporate order, Indian companies are some of the
strongest players globally. They have a huge chest of investible funds and very
little debt burden compared to companies in the developed world. They also have
a battery of highly trained and motivated professionals. They have mastered the
secrets of cost effective operations giving lowest cost options without
compromising on quality in any manner.
Today, companies from India are counted amongst the lowest cost
producers of steel, auto components, optical discs, automobiles, laminated
tubes etc. Above all, Indian companies are demonstratively entrepreneurial. All
these together form a winning combination and this explains why Indian
companies are accepted with readiness all over.
The acceptance of Indian companies overseas is
also the result of a certain kind of trust that they have been able to generate
in global circles. One reflection of this is the access they are currently
enjoying to finance at very attractive rates of interest from global financial
markets. A deal of the order of Bharti-Zain could not have been possible unless
the Bharti group had generated that kind of trust and respect amongst members
of the global financial community.
Of course, there are occasional blips where Indian
companies have not been accepted despite some very competitive bids. However,
these cases appear to be aberrations rather than the rule.
In the current situation one can expect that the
trend will further take hold as the western countries are facing uncertain
economic prospects and this is affecting the fortunes of their corporates. Many
of them are looking for ‘white knights’ to come to their rescue. In contrast,
the Indian economy is growing at a fast clip while most Indian companies still
enjoy strong fundamentals. If the Indian economy continues to grow, then its
corporates will continue to place their footprints all over the globe.
https://www.siliconindia.com/events/utkarsh/index.php
|
|
