Cover Story

Going globalFor the first time, outbound investments from India will surpass

inbound investments. India Inc is making bold acquisitions.Ryan Rodrigues reports

On his recent visit to India, PrinceAndrew, who is Duke of York and 4th in line to the Britishthrone, made stops through the

busy bustling cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. As UK's SpecialRepresentative for International Tradeand Investment, the Duke was in Indiaon business. Serious business.

"India recently displaced Japan asthe second-largest investor in theUK," he says. "The number of Indianbusinesses investing in the UK has increased from 19 four years ago, to over 100today." There wasgladness on hisface, and with good reason. Take just thenumber of Indian companies trading on theLondon Stock Exchange, which has in lessthan five years risen to over 50. The Princenow plans to initiate a mechanism that will

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boost a "special trade relationship"between the two countries.

"You can sense the times changing,"says Hugh Sanderman, head of businessdevelopment at the London StockExchange in India. Only a few months agohad L.N. Mittal's Mittal Steel made a bidfor its nearest rival Arcelor. Arcelor hadthen termed the move hostile, and recom-mended its shareholders not to tendertheir shares into the proposed offer, if andwhen submitted. In a corporate battle thathit headlines world over, Arcelor eventual-ly merged with Mittal Steel.

"But now look at the Tata Steel-Corusdeal," adds Sanderman. "There's nonoise. It's smoothly sailing through." TataSteel in October made official its plans toacquire Corus, its Anglo-Dutch rival. Farfrom opposition, there have been hand-shakes and welcome signs. Back at thenewly-formed Arcelor-Mittal, the mood issimilar. After much deliberation, Mittal recently took over as chief executive officer.

This is a sign of things to come, saysDhanraj Bhagat, practice director (corpo-rate advisory services) at Grant Thornton."It shows that people are getting morecomfortable with Indian managerial tal-ent." The Indian story is just beginning. At$8.1 billion, the Tata-Corus deal is thelargest ever for India Inc.

There are many moresigns. Take a FinancialTimes analysis for instance,which last month foundthat outbound investmentsfrom India have started torival inbound investments.At $7.2 billion this was upfrom $4.5 billion a year ear-lier. A UK-based researchfirm Deallogic counted 112outbound acquisitions fromIndia in the first six months.Grant Thornton counts 230deals that took place tillOctober 2006, up from 60in 2004.

If the Tata acquisitiongoes through, it will easilymake the total outboundinvestments for the year toexceed inbound foreigndirect investment. The mes-sage has rarely been

clearer. India Inc has arrived on the global stage.

This is a reversal since the 1990s,when Indian industry feared liberalisationwould bring in multinationals with whosefinancial muscle it would be difficult tocompete with. Reserves had then sunk toless than a billion dollars, creating a finan-cial crisis that forced India to open itseconomy to foreigners.

Foreign exchange reserves are todayracing toward the $200-billion mark.After decades of being stifled by strictforeign exchange controls, the govern-ment has liberalised capital flows and cor-porate India has gone on a shopping spree- snapping up companies everywhere."Now, almost every Indian company has aglobal plan," adds Bhagat. M&A deals inIndia have risen to nearly three a week.

However, this recent spurt is not thestart of an increase in deal sizes. TheTatas had earlier made an acquisition ofthe US-based Energy Brands for $677 mil-lion, and wind energy major Suzlonacquired Hansen Transmissions for $570million. Oil company ONGC Videshacquired a 15 per cent stake in a Brazil oil-field for $1.4 billion. Ballarpur Industriesbought the Malaysian Sabah ForestIndustries for $261 million. Pharma com-pany Dr Reddy's acquired Germany's

Betapharm for $572 million. RanbaxyLaboratories bought over Romania'sTerapia for $324 million.

For Wockhardt, acquisitions meanspreading its footprint and tapping intonew markets. In October Wockhardtannounced the acquisition of Ireland'sPinewood Laboratories for $150 million."This acquisition gives us a larger foot-print in Europe spread over the UK, Irelandand Germany," says chairman HabilKhorakiwala. "European business willnow exceed $200 million, accounting foralmost half of Wockhardt's total sales."

The reasons to go global vary. Forsome it is access to newer markets,

new products, and technologies. For oth-ers it is boosting up the distribution net-work, or raw material sourcing opportuni-ties. "It could be simply to have a globalscale of operations to service a growingcustomer base, which is spread acrossthe world, and in some cases to makeaggressive brand buys, where Indian com-panies feel comfortable about leveragingfor their own brand building," saysSanjeev Krishnan, executive director atPricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC). That,with easy availability of finance and pri-vate equity funding - including leveragedbuy-outs of businesses other companies

consider "non-core" - haspaved the way forward.

There is good reason tobelieve that this trend cansustain in the times tocome. Indian companies arecompeting globally and theywould not be able to do sounless they have a globalfootprint.

In the Asia-Pacific region,in the first half of 2006, aPwC report points at theIndian market, which is thethird most active in the Asia-Pacific region. This wasattributed to India's entryinto newer markets, estab-lishment of leadership posi-tions by existing players,extension of domain knowl-edge by acquisition ofknow-how and focus oninfrastructure.

The size of the Tata-

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Spreading out Outbound deals during September and October 2006Investor Investee Acquisition price ($ mn)

Videocon Industries Daewoo Electronics, Korea 695.65

ONGC Videsh Omimex de Columbia, Columbia 425

Indian Hotels Ritz-Carlton hotel, US 170

Wockhardt Pinewood Laboratories, Ireland 150

Mahindra & Mahindra Jeco Holding A.G., Germany 120.45

SKumar's American Pacific, US 90

Aditya Birla Group Hubei Jing Wei, China 67

3i Infotech Rhyme Systems, UK 51.99

Wipro Infrastructure Engineering Hydrauto Group, Sweden 31

Wipro Infotech 3D Networks. Singapore 23

Strides Acrolab Drug Houses of Australia 12.5

GTL Limited Genesis Consultancy, UK 9

Moser Baer SolFocus, US and Solaria, US 7, N.A.

Bilcare DHP, UK 5

Praj Industries C.J. Schneider Engineering, US 4.89

Dr Reddy's Litaphar, Spain 4.45

Punj Lloyd Sembawang Engineers & Constructors, Singapore 3.04

Tetley Group Joekels Tea Packers, South Africa N.A.

Hinduja TMT Affina, US N.A.Source: Dealtracker

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Corus deal, of course, statistically raisesthe size of the average Indian outboundinvestments. This will further be aided bythe $700-million Videocon-DaewooElectronics deal, which will help Videocongain a stronghold in regions like the US,Korea, Japan and other European mar-

kets. But at more than $8 billion,Tata-Corus is the largest IndianM&A deal ever.

This is a turning point. It indi-cates that Indians are taking overmore Indian companies abroadthan MNCs (multinational compa-nies) are taking over companies inIndia. The new found zest inIndian companies is being recog-nised in foreign boardrooms.Competitors see a formidableforce in these merged entities.

The Indian partner adds a hungerfor growth not seen for many years in USand European companies that havebecome complacent in mature markets.The lean and mean Indian machine is mak-ing inroads into various sectors, and notjust the traditional IT. Expect this trend tostick around for some time. n

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Tata-Corus hasbeen hogging theheadlines. But,without muchmedia fanfare,the Tatas have

been steadily building up their presenceabroad.Take Tata Steel itself. The companyacquired Singapore's NatSteel in early2005. This gave it access to markets inChina, Thailand, Vietnam, thePhilippines, Australia and Malaysia.Shortly after that, it snapped upMillennium Steel, the largest steel com-pany in Thailand. Tata Steel has alsoacquired a 5 per cent interest in theCarborough Downs Coal Project inQueensland, Australia.The globalisation has a greenfield com-ponent too. Tata Steel has signed amemorandum of understanding with thePersian Gulf Special Economic Zone toset up a 3 million tonne, gas-based steelplant at Bandar Abbas. In Richards Bay(South Africa), the company is workingon a 135,000 tonnes per annum fer-rochrome plant. And the Tatas are nego-tiating with the government of

Bangladesh for a steel plant in the west-ern part of the country.Other group companies are not farbehind. Tata Tea was actually the firstoff the block when it took over Tetley(which was twice its size) in 2000. Atthe time, it was the biggest Indian cor-porate acquisition.In June this year, Tata Coffee, a sub-sidiary of Tata Tea, signed an agree-ment to acquire Eight O' Clock Coffeefor $220 million. In August, Tata Sonsand Tata Tea announced a plan to invest$677 million for a 30 per cent stake inEnergy Brands, a maker of vitaminwater. In October, Tata Tea took a 33per cent stake in South African tea com-pany Joekels Tea Packers.Among other targets are Boston's RitzCarlton Hotel for $170 million. Lastyear, the Tata Group had snapped up amanagement contract for the PierreHotel in New York. At the time of writ-ing, in November 2006, the group hadjust acquired Japanese auto giantNissan's truck manufacturing plant inSouth Africa. By the time you read this,there could well be more additions tothe list.

The Top Ten Overseas acquisitions

Investor Investee Price ($)

Tata Steel Corus, UK 8.04 bn

Videocon Industries Daewoo Electronics, Korea 695 mn

Tata Tea Energy Brands Inc, US 677 mn

Suzlon Energy Hansen Transmissions, Belgium 570 mn

Tata Steel NatSteel, Singapore 486 mn

Tata Tea Tetley, UK 407 mn

Tata Steel Millennium Steel, Thailand 404 mn

Ranbaxy Terapia, Romania 324 mn

VSNL Teleglobe, Canada 239 mn

Tata Coffee Eight O’Clock Coffee, US 220 mnSource: Economic Times

“The takeover of Corus is a definingmoment,” says Ratan Tata

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Until just a few years you'd findIndian families in the most remote places; theubiquitous Malayalee vendor of idlis and dosas is prover-

bial. Now, increasingly, you'll find Indian companies cooking uptheir own designs there too.

After years of contemplation, Bajaj Auto made a move earlierthis year to invest $50 million in a plant in Indonesia, which itwill set up with a joint venture partner. "It's the third-largestmotorcycle market," says executive director Sanjiv Bajaj.

There are many who prefer the joint venture route. At theoffices of IT education provider Aptech, for instance, pinpointingthe next big market to penetrate has never been a daunting task."Our business model has evolved in India which is a developingcountry," says Pramod Khera, CEO and managing director of thecompany. "So it was natural for us to target developing coun-tries. In IT education the situation in these countries is similar towhat was in India a few years ago."

But, as the economy picks up and confidence levels rise, theurge to merge and acquire is fast gaining pace. When Ranbaxyacquired Terapia in Romania for $324 million, it had much big-ger plans in place.

Today Indian acquisitions in developed countries no longerraise eyebrows. Many companies have entered markets likeEurope, the US, and Germany. But an Indian company preparedto risk it out in the open — in developing countries around theglobe — turns heads.

There are, of course, country-specific risks. "But some Indiancompanies are in a position to fund overseas acquisitions. Thereis also an increase in risk appetite," says Timmy Khandari, exec-utive director, consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.Raising money — through debt and equity options, throughFCCBs (Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds and GDRs (GlobalDepository Receipts), has never been easier. The strongest con-tenders for globalisation are Indian auto component companies,those in the pharmaceuticals field, IT, light engineering andentertainment.

Some are moving due to strategic reasons. ONGC Videsh Ltd(OVL), despite stiff competition, is making acquisitions to secureIndia's energy needs. The wholly-owned subsidiary of the Oil &

Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was set upin 1996 to manage the petroleum major's international

exploration and prospecting business. In that sense, OVL is man-dated to operate exclusively in foreign markets, and has spreadits footprint wide.

Today, the company has overseas assets in Iran, Russia, Iraq,Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, Cuba, Qatar, andEgypt. Two of these stand. The $1.7-billion investment in theSakhalin oil fields of Russia, the largest of its kind by an Indiancompany, and the securing of a 25 per cent stake in therenowned GNOP fields of Sudan via a one-time investment of$690 million are the chart toppers.

United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL), India's largest producer of cropprotection products and fourth amongst the world's genericagrochemical companies, has successfully built a network acrossthe globe through acquisitions, strategic alliances and sub-sidiaries. In the past year alone, it has managed five acquisitions— a distribution company in the US (Ag Value), Cequisa inSpain, a crop protection brand from Bayer CorpScience A.G.,Advanta/Pacific Seeds (worldwide), and Reposo S.A. inArgentina. Explains executive director Jai Shroff: "As a firststep, we set up a marketing network in countries with the poten-tial for our products. Once a particular country offers more prom-ise, we set up or acquire a manufacturing facility."

The company is building formulation facilities in Vietnam andSouth Korea, which will serve as the formulation hubs for theregion. UPL says it prefers developing markets, which offer high-er growth potential vis-à-vis mature, western markets wheregrowth is flat. "Developing markets are far more competitive andchallenging, but that is where our focus is," asserts Shroff.

And finally there's IT, where Wipro Technologies, out on anacquisition spree — it completed its fifth (in Finland) this year —has been most active. But increasingly the trend is shifting tomid-size Indian companies. "It's not just the big boys," saysDhanraj Bhagat, practice director at consultancy firm GrantThornton. "Today even Indian companies with turnovers of$100-200 million are looking at going global."

The big boys make the noise, the small collectively make upthe India story. n

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FootprintseverywhereFootprints

everywhere

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Touchdowns aplentyAlbania: Dr Reddy'sAndean and Caribbean Islands: TCSArgentina: Glenmark, TCS, United PhosphorousAustria: WiproBelarus: Dr Reddy'sBelgium: All Cargo Global, Crompton Greaves, Dr Reddy's, SuzlonBolivia: Jindal Steel and PowerBrazil: Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Hindustan, Cadila, Dr Reddy's, Elgi, Glenmark, Orchid,Ranbaxy, TCS, Thermax, Torrent, Unichem, WockhardtCuba: ONGC VideshDenmark: InfosysEgypt: Ranbaxy, A. Birla group, ONGC VideshFinland: Infosys, TCS, WiproFrance: KPIT Cummins, Ranbaxy, TCS, Shasun Chemicals, Videocon, WiproGhana: Dr Reddy's, WockhardtGreece: Havell India, Jain IrrigationHungary: Satyam, TCSIndonesia: Satyam, Bajaj AutoIran: Bajaj Auto, ONGC Videsh, Tata SteelIraq: ONGC VideshIreland: HCL, Ranbaxy, WockhardtItaly: Infosys, Videocon, WiproIvory Coast: ONGC Videsh, RanbaxyKazakhstan: Wockhardt, Dr Reddy'sKenya: Dr Reddy's, HPCLLibya: ONGC VideshLithuania: RanbaxyMexico: TCS, VideoconMorocco: Tata Chemicals, A. Birla groupNetherlands: Dr Reddy's, Infosys, Rolta, TCS, United PhosphorousNorway: InfosysPhilippines: A. Birla GroupPoland: Ranbaxy, Strides Acrolab, VideoconPortugal: TCS, RanbaxyRomania: Dr Reddy's, GHCL, M&MRussia: ICICI Bank, ONGC Videsh, Tata Motors, Tata Tea, WockhardtSpain: Ranbaxy, Satyam, Tata MotorsSudan: ONGC VideshSweden: Bharat Forge, Evalueserve, Geodesic Info Systems, HCL, Igate,Infosys, L&T, Patni, Satyam, TCS, WiproSyria: ONGC VideshTanzania: Dr Reddy's, WockhardtThailand: A. Birla group, BILT, Foursoft, L&T, Ranbaxy, Tata Motors, WiproTrinidad and Tobago: Berger Paints, Essar SteelTurkey: Global Steel HoldingsUganda: Dr Reddy'sUruguay: TCSUkraine: Dr Reddy's, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, WockhardtVietnam: ONGC Videsh, Ranbaxy, Wockhardt

A line up of Bajaj Three Wheelers in Peru

Source: Business India, India Now research. *Does not include countries like the US and the UK where the number of Indian companies is high

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T hey are known in the profession ascorporate doctors; these are themen and women who are brought

into sick companies to nurse them back tohealth. There is even a whole disciplinestyled turnaround management.

Venugopal Dhoot, chairman and man-aging director of consumer durables andelectronics major, the Videocon Group,doesn't seem the sort of person whowould be comfortable in such a role. But,over the past couple of years, he hasindeed been grabbing up stressed assetsall over the world. A couple of years ago,he picked up a unit in Italy from Thomsonof France. Later, the French company soldits colour picture tubes facilities all overthe world — including China and Poland— to Videocon for around $300 million.

Now Videocon is eyeing the ailing elec-tronics business of the Daewoo Group ofSouth Korea. It has already put in a bid of$730 million ($30 million more than thenext bidder). Thus, unless something veryunexpected happens, the units should fallinto its lap.

According to media reports, theDhoots are now looking at the Seoul-based LG Philips. Owner Royal PhilipsElectronics NV has already indicated thatthe South Korean company will be put onthe block as it is not part of its core com-petency. Media reports also say that thegroup may target Pioneer of Japan. Andthere have been rumours for nearly sixmonths now that Polaroid is also on theshopping list.

The one thing common to all thesecompanies and divisions of larger entitiesis that they are not exactly in the pink ofhealth. Some of them are sick and, in theopinion of experts in the countries theyare based in, beyond redemption.

The problem lies in technology. Whilethe West is moving away from cathoderay tubes and colour picture tubes to flatTVs and plasma displays, the Videoconacquisitions make exactly the same out-dated wares. "The MNCs are so happy toget rid of these units that they are actual-ly investing back in Videocon," says acorporate watcher. "There is thus very lit-

tle actual cash outflow from Videocon."So how does it make sense for

Videocon? Venugopal Dhoot's reasoning issimple: there is much life left yet in thesetechnologies. This is true in the West also.But in developing countries, there is hugedemand. Image quality and other frills areall very fine. But, in India say, people willthink 10 times before buying a plasma TVwhen there is a low-tech version availableat one-tenth the price. Over the years,Dhoot hopes to migrate these units tomore advanced technology. The companyis investing in R&D to make the transitionprocess smoother.

It is, of course, easier to take over sickunits in other countries. There is none ofthe resistance - and media drama - thatcomes when a healthy national icon is tar-geted. (Every company becomes a nation-al icon when a foreign predator approach-es.) In the wake of the reunion of Westand East Germany, some Indian industrial-ists had taken over units in the latter.However, this was in the first flush of lib-eralisation in India, and these efforts werecrippled because of money and regulatoryproblems. Today, it's much easier.

Besides, Indian industrialists have a lotof experience in this arena. The Board forIndustrial & Financial Reconstruction(BIFR) has been around since 1987. Itsmandate is to identify and rescue sickunits. A favoured prescription is to try andlocate a white knight which will take it over.

Even outside the ambit of the BIFR,mergers are quite common. The SteelAuthority of India has taken over the ail-ing Indian Iron and Steel Co. When banksface a crisis, whatever the reason, theReserve Bank of India has always mandat-ed a merger with a stronger bank.

"Business magazines have even carriedCover Stories on Corporate Doctors andTurnaround Artistes," says the corporatewatcher quoted earlier. "You won'tbelieve the number of such experts thereare."

Indians have gathered much experi-ence in healing their charges in their homecountry. Now they are ready to providetheir services to the world. n

Doctors to the world

STRESS RELIEF: Videocon’s chairman and managing director, Venugopal Dhoot

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Mergers aremade inHeaven. Thed i v o r c e sh a p p e ndown onearth or, ifyou preferit, in Hell. Itis unfortu-nately truethat most

mergers do not work. Indian companieshave not had much experience in thisarena. That's because takeovers ofhealthy companies have not been partof India's corporate ethos.When the London-based Swraj Paul triedto target DCM and Escorts in the eight-ies, he ended up the loser. Not onlywere his bids thwarted, the money hehad invested in picking up the shares ofthese companies was blocked for years.Of course, people like R.P. Goenka, thelate Manu Chhabria and liquor and foodsbaron, the late Vittal Mallya, had somemeasure of success. But they were real-ly taking over companies from the man-aging agency system era. (These werecompanies run by Indian agents for theirUK owners.) That's a different story.The Goenkas and Mallyas had themoney and they waited for the fruits -unwanted by their distant British own-ers - to fall into their laps. The combat-ive Chhabria was different, but that toois another story.The main reason why mergers fail isbecause there is a clash of cultures.Consider one example. Hindustan Levertook over an Indian personal productscompany. The fatted-and-feted execu-tives of the latter — an ailing company,mind you — flew to New Delhi execu-tive class for a meeting with the Leverbrass. The Lever chairman, meanwhile,was travelling economy class on thesame flight. The culture at Lever at thattime was that everybody flew economy.According to McKinsey Quarterly, mostpeople fail to look for problem areas. "Acompany risks overestimating synergiesif it neglects to use the available bench-marks as a sanity check," says

McKinsey. Adds a management consult-ant: "You look at the topline and seehow it combines to catapult you severalsteps up the ladder. You don't reallylook at the bottomline, because thatimpact is far more difficult to evaluate."A study by consultancy KPMG says halfthe mergers destroy shareholder value.A further third don't make a difference.So it is only a small fraction of the merg-ers that pay dividends. "Mergers are,like second marriages, a triumph of hopeover experience," says The Economist.The biggest reason why mergers gowrong is on the HR front. A study by HRconsulting services firm Tower Perrinsays that "The companies may go inand do due diligence, look at all thefinancial matters, but it is really the cul-tural and people issues that can meanthe demise of a successful merger."Adds an article in Knowledge@Wharton: "Merging corporate cultures isa process that doesn't happenovernight. It requires a tremendousamount of initiative from the firm's lead-ership to make it happen."What is the Indian scenario? Accordingto a paper by P.L. Beena, Centre forDevelopment Studies, Trivandrum, mostmergers in India in the post-reform peri-od have been "between firms belongingto the same business group with a viewto increase their controlling blocs inorder to guard against a takeover."Cultural issues should thus not arise tothat large an extent in such companies.Are Indian companies prepared for thepossible cultural problems as they stepinto a takeover-filled tomorrow? Some,like the Tatas, say that they don't desta-bilise the existing management in thecompanies they take over abroad.Others say that the Indian style of man-agement is itself more accommodative."When you have to deal with so manylanguages and cultures as in India, youautomatically learn the process of giveand take," says a management consult-ant. And some go by the book. "The keyto dealing with cross-cultural issues isgood communication," notes VideoconCEO Venugopal Dhoot. So far, he hasmanaged to walk the talk.

THE OTHER SIDE

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Unlike the Tata-Corus deal, whichwas all very amicable, London-based steel tycoon L.N. Mittal had

a tempestuous time when he bid forArcelor. The Luxembourg-registered Arcelorwas the world No 2 in steel while MittalSteel was No 1. Together Arcelor Mittal isthe numeno uno by far, with 330,000employees in more than 60 countries.

Post merger, Ronald Junck had beenappointed CEO. In a more recent develop-ment, Mittal has taken over as CEO in addi-tion to his being president of the board ofdirectors. According to Junck, who willremain a member of the group managementboard: "I believe this clarification of theleadership arrangements of Arcelor Mittal isin the best interests of all parties."

Mittal's attempted takeover of the com-pany had been accompanied by much acri-mony. Union Commerce and IndustriesMinister Kamal Nath had to take up thecudgels for him in various fora. Some of thecharges made against Mittal had racistovertones; how could an Indian aspire to bethe steel king of the world.

It was diplomatic to have someone over-see the short-term merger process. Nowthat the work of integration has to begin, itis necessary that the real man in charge -L.N. Mittal - don the mantle officially.

In the short term again, results of thecombine have been excellent. Arcelor Mittalchief financial officer Aditya Mittal, who isalso L.N. Mittal's son, says that a strongrise in steel prices has helped to bring inmuch better numbers in the third quarter of2006.

"The overarching priority for ArcelorMittal is to successfully integrate the twocompanies and deliver the merger synergiesand benefits," says L.N. Mittal. "The pastthree months have served to increase ourconfidence in the strategic rationale of com-bining the two companies. I remain veryexcited about our future prospects."

Mittal may have made the headlines.And it is true that in size and scale there areno other Indians to match him. But there areseveral non-resident Indians (NRIs) buildingtheir own empires quietly through takeoversand mergers. The Anil Agarwal-led VedantaResources is also becoming a sort of metals

major, but in areas outside steel. Agarwalhas copper, zinc, alumina and aluminiumunder his belt, both abroad and in India. TheIndian interests include Hindustan Zinc andBharat Aluminium, both acquired under thegovernment's disinvestment programme,and the assets of his original flagshipSterlite. Abroad Vedanta has two coppermines in Australia and copper assets inZambia including the Konkola CopperMines. The icing on the cake is the AraratGold Recovery Company in Armenia. This,however, has yet to prove itself.

Even more famous, perhaps, isPurnendu Chatterjee, the man who sal-vaged Haldia Petrochemicals from an earlygrave. Chatterjee worked for 10 years inMcKinsey & Co where he was a top-flightM&A consultant. His most ambitious bidto date was for the $5.7 billion Basell, apolyolefins and plastics major. This wasthe biggest outbound Indian takeover bidat that time; Haldia Petrochemicals wasbilled as part of the consortium of bidders.That didn't pan out. But Purnendu has hisantenna alert for other opportunities.

In the US, particularly in the Internetand dotcom space, there were several

Indians - Exodus Communications founderK.B. Chandrasekhar, for instance — whocarved out quite an empire for themselves.But, when the bubble burst, none of themreally came out smelling of roses. Manyare still around waiting to strike it big next time.

Then there are the people who mostobservers don't really associate with NRIstatus. Pramod Mittal, brother of L.N.Mittal, has interests in Libya, Bosnia, thePhilippines, Nigeria, Turkey and Bulgaria.Subhash Chandra of Zee Telefilms famehas engineered a series of global takeoverin the packaging arena through EsselPropack. After gobbling up Propack AG ofSwitzerland in 2001, Essel has emerged asthe largest manufacturer of laminatedpackaging material in the world.

The definition of an NRI depends on thenumber of days in a year he or she spendsabroad. (An NRI is treated as a residentunder the income-tax act if he spends 182days or more in India.) Many like Chandracould be NRIs one year and full-fledged cit-izens the next.

But that is as it should be. The GlobalIndian is above geographical boundaries.

The non-resting Indian

IN THE HOT SEAT: Arcelor Mittal chief executive officer, L.N. Mittal

PHOT

OCOR

P

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