We welcome all companies from India to come and invest and do business there. We have almost no restrictions in any sector at all. However, we expect similar reciprocity in India for our apples, pistachios, helicopters, and disaster relief materials, besides other products. We do not restrict such items from entering the US markets.
Four years after buying Novelis, a company three times its size, Hindalco is now banking on the Atlanta (US)-headquartered aluminium rolling and recycling major to fund its Rs 23,000-crore expansion plan in India.
The finance ministry said it would wait for RBI guidelines, a development which will provide much relief to ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. Both are already known as Foreign Owned Indians Controlled entities, after foreign investment in them rose much above 50 per cent, following new norms of calculations by the commerce ministry.
With Reliance Industries openly expressing displeasure about the merger between its joint venture gas partner, Atlas Energy, with Chevron, all eyes are now on Atlas' special shareholder meeting on February 16, called to approve the proposed merger.
The government is likely to extend interest subvention for some export-oriented sectors for another year to sustain the current growth in exports. This will be announced during the coming Union Budget for 2011-2012.
The government is set to announce some significant measures to reduce the high transaction costs faced by the country's exporters in their day-to-day operations. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will be unveiling the measures on February 8.
After 15 months of negotiations, the Aditya Birla Group has finally agreed to buy out the US firm Columbian Chemicals Company (CCC) for $875 million from One Equity Partners, the merchant banking arm of JPMorgan Chase. This has catapulted the group to become the world leader in carbon black with a combined two million tonne annual production.
The government is unlikely to extend any more incentives to exporters this financial year, with the export growth rate at an impressive 36.3 per cent in December, even as they complain of a high interest rate eating away competitiveness.
Despite all official assurances, the path towards a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union (EU) this year remains ambiguous, as both sides are unwilling to relax their stand on the biggest stumbling block - the issue of "data exclusivity".
The long-awaited move to bring urea under the Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme is likely to be announced in the coming Union Budget, to be unveiled on February 28, even as the government would decontrol its prices gradually.
The Aditya Birla Group is in acquisition mode again. It appears set to acquire US carbon black manufacturer Columbian Chemicals. According to two independent sources, negotiations are at the last stages, and a deal is expected to be announced next week. The size of the deal, said these sources, is expected to be around $900 million (Rs 4,100 crore).
Five months before the put option window closes, JP Morgan has come out with a report stating that Essar's stake in Vodafone Essar is around $2 billion, which is far less than what the shareholder agreement between the two companies in 2007 envisaged.
The government is likely to announce significant policy measures relating to allowance of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail segment, even as the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (Dipp) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is giving final touches to the draft report prepared by an inter-ministerial committee.
The government's aim is to ensure it gets to its Rs 40,000-crore (Rs 400-billion) target from disinvestment proceeds before the end of 2010-11.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said India will not "rush to" the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the "regressive" steps taken by the US recently, which include an increase in the visa fee and a special levy on foreign manufacturers.
The Mumbai-based Shah family of the diversified Anchor Group has decided to put its FMCG portfolio of oral care and personal care products on the block, according to two independent sources.
A stake sale deal between Patni Computer Systems and iGate is on course, but has been delayed due to procedural issues.Sources involved in the deal said they include tax-related developments and offshore transaction fees.
However, the Carlyle-Advent consortium could revise its bid upwards, said two independent sources tracking the deal.
Vinod takes centrestage as Pramod stays away from deal; uncertainty over the latter's continuity on Ispat board.
The O P Jindal Group has emerged as a strong contender for Ispat Industries, the debt-laden company owned by Pramod and Vinod Mittal.