Only focus can lift India's services exports to potential: Modi
In a bid to boost services exports beyond $155 billion annually, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 23 called for a targeted and scientific approach so that the trade not only knows India's inherent strengths but also what other nations need. "Make the world think of India beyond information technology and yoga," the prime misister told the inaugural session of the three-day Global Exhibition of Services in New Delhi, alluding to what he felt were India's best known exports in the services domain. The prime minister also dwelt on the country's favourable demographic profile, skewed in favour of the youth, and said India must take advantage of the global situation, notably among rich nations. "We have to plan keeping in mind that 65 percent of people less than 35 years, and our population will get younger. We have also to see the world situation, where many countries could be handicapped due to manpower problems," Modi said. In a speech peppered with statistics and several personal anecdotes, Modi said state governments and the private sector need to be involved in manpower development so as to tap the varied potential of very diverse workforce. "India is so big and its manpower strength is so diverse that we need to map this to realise its full potential. Different regions, from Assam to Karnataka, have their own very special strengths," he said. "India has to take stock of its manpower potential in a global context. By 2025, we can have a complete idea of which country needs what, we can map the requirement of all countries," the prime minister added. Speaking earlier, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's share in world services exports had grown from 1.1 percent in 2000 to 3.2 percent in 2015, increasing faster than its merchandise exports over the same period. India was the 8th largest exporter of commercial services in 2014, she added. Of the $151.5 billion services exports in 2013-14, computer services made up a whopping 46 percent.

Clarks to double India sourcing to 15 m shoes
UK’s largest shoemaker Clarks plans to double the number of footwear sourced from India from 8 million to 15 million pairs. The company sources shoes worth $700 million (Rs4,364 crore), which it plans to take to Rs10,000 crore in next three years. “In next 3-5 years, the target is to take it to 15 million pairs,” said S Ramprasad, CEO, Clarks Future Footwork. Clarks sources shoes from Tamil Nadu factories. “These are large factories where there are Clarks’ sourcing lines,” said Ramprasad. Clarks is not the only company to source products from here. India is a major sourcing destination for Adidas, Reebok, Nike and Puma, both for domestic and international operations. Despite a preference for the Indian product, it’s China, however, that continues to be the largest hub for these companies. For Clarks, too, China remains the largest sourcing destination. But things are changing now. Clarks works closely with India suppliers to make premium shoes. The average price for a pair of Clarks shoes is $60, or Rs 3,742. Every piece of leather that goes into the shoe is treated, making it more expensive. Analysts say in the past five years, Indian vendors have invested significantly in technology and are building capacity to cater to the global demand. Last year, Clarks sold 65 million pair of shoes. And India produced one-eighth of that. “Labour in India is skilled and low-cost. Job creation in this area is huge,” said Ramprasad. India is good at making shoes for men, as far as Clarks is concerned. In India, Clarks has a 50:50 joint venture with Kishore Biyani’s Future Group. Though it entered India through a distributor, Lifestyle Asia, in 2005, its first major foray was in 2010 via a JV. Clarks has 56 stores in the country. It also sells through other multi-brand retailers such as Metro and Shoe Tree. However, its plan to open 100 stores in two years has become a challenge because of high rentals, and low footfalls in high street stores. “Rents are high and we don’t see the kind of productivity we need,” said Ramprasad. So, the company has decided to look at the franchisee model, especially for expansion in non-metro tier-I and tier-II cities. It already has 12 franchisee stores. Of the 25 new stores Clarks plans to open in the next one year, 15 will be franchisees. It is also working on a new online platform, as e-commerce forms 10% of Clarks overall sales.

Nestle-India to launch 145 new water, sanitation projects
Global food, nutrition and wellness giant Nestle will launch 145 new projects for better water and sanitation across various locations in the country this year. Having spent around Rs.300 million last year under its 'Nestle in Society Initiatives' campaign, Nestle India plans to execute 145 new projects related to water and sanitation in 2015. "The new projects will be in addition to the already ongoing projects under the Nestle in Society Initiatives. The current fiscal will witness almost a 50 percent increase in new projects compared to last year. In 2014, Nestle India added 100 new projects," Sanjay Khajuria, senior vice president-corporate affairs, told IANS. Nestle's clean drinking water projects (223 projects since 1999) have benefitted nearly 95,000 people. The water awareness programme has reached out to nearly 52,000 students since 1999, while its sanitation projects (106), launched in 2007, have reached out to over 36,500 girl students. Having been in India for over 100 years (commercial activities started in 1912), Nestle set up its first plant in Punjab's Moga town in 1961 with major focus on milk products. The company, with leading popular products like Maggi noodles, ketch-ups, infant milk products (Cerelac, Lactogen), Everyday dairy products and chocolates, now has eight manufacturing plants across the country. "The company has been actively focusing on nutrition, water, sanitation and rural development. The company has helped improve the lives of millions of people - through the products and services we provide and through employment, our supplier networks and the contribution we make to economies around the world," Khajuria said, highlighting Nestle's 'Creating Shared Value' (CSV) approach to doing business. In Punjab, Nestle has been working with farmers and the community for nearly 54 years to improve water, sanitation and nutrition conditions under its CSV campaign. "Nestle was instrumental in bring about a mindset change among farmers to take to dairy farming. Starting from small farmers having just 2-3 cows, we are now engaging medium (15-20 animals) and large farmers (50 to 100 animals) in dairy farming," Kamalbir Singh Deol, Nestle's regional manager for fresh milk procurement and dairy development, told IANS here. Being the largest private player in the region, Nestle collects nearly 1.4 million litres of milk daily from over 100,000 farmers in Punjab and parts of neighbouring Haryana and Rajasthan. "Farmers and other people in Punjab and other areas have been associated with Nestle for decades. This reflects the trust that the company reposes in them," Nestle's Moga plant factory manager Satish Srinivasan told IANS.

Samsung likely to set up $100 mn facility in Hyderabad
Global electronics major Samsung is expected to set up a manufacturing unit in Hyderabad with an investment of $100 million, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said on April 22. He said the ministers for industry and information technology would meet a delegation from Samsung in this regard on April 23. Speaking at the inauguration of an extended facility at Mahindra & Mahindra's automotive plant here, the chief minister said Samsung was one of the many major industries showing interest in investing in the state. "Hyderabad has a very large scope for electronic hardware industry," he said. Claiming that the newly formed state has overcome its electricity shortage, he assured the industry that his government will shortly ensure round the clock quality power supply. "Expand your industries. There are not going to be power cuts in Telangana," he told industrialists. The chief minister said many companies were coming forward to invest in Telangana, including a Rs.980-crore expansion by tyre major MRF. He said the government would shortly launch a programme under which investors will get all approvals and clearances within two weeks of making an application to set up an industry. The state has already enacted a law, providing this right to the investors. "It will be a real single window with a chasing cell in my office. 2The hassle-free and corruption- free environment will boost industrialisation and attract investment," he said.

Indian seafood exports to the EU on the rise
Indian seafood exports to the European Union (EU) have been steadily growing from $227 million in 2000-01 to $805 million in 2011-12 and is expected to reach $1.06 billion in 2014-15 , according to Leena Nair, chairperson of Marine Products Export Development Authority of India (MPEDA). Speaking at a luncheon event organised by the MPEDA on the sidelines of the Brussels seafood fair on April 22, she noted that among EU countries, Spain tops the list of importing Indian seafood products with $188 million, followed by Belgium with $187 million, Britain and Italy with $128 million each and France with $106 million. “These are the four major buyers in the EU and trade with the EU has also been climbing up,” said Nair. India exports today over 75,000 metric tonnes of shrimp to the EU and is the largest supplier of shrimp from non-European countries to the EU. Apart from shrimp, India is also one of the largest supplier of squid and cuttle fish to Europe, especially to Spain and Italy. EU imported close to 44,000 MT of cuttle fish and 30,000 MT of squid from India this year. India has one of the highest number of EU-approved processing plants -- 300 -- and 46 EU-approved cold storages,. Nair said that Indian seafood exports around the world have been going up. “We have been doing very well in exports. Our exports have doubled and tripled. From 2008 to 2009 where we were at $1,9 billion and now we hope to reach $5.7 billion.” Marketwise, the US has been the most favoured destination followed by South East Asia, EU, an the Middle East. All in all, India exports seafood to 101 countries. Majority of the exports are made up of frozen shrimp, frozen fish, cuttle fish, dried items and squid. India’s Ambassador to the EU and Belgium Manjeev Singh Puri also spoke at the event and said: “It is of great pride to me to see the graph is going upwards not only in terms of Indian export of seafood but also Indian exports of seafood to the EU." About 20 seafood companies from India are among the 1,700 exhibiting companies from over 75 countries participating in the three-day Brussels seafood fair that closes its gates on Thursday.

Exporters' body calls for boosting domestic manufacturing
Describing as "disappointing" the data on March exports, the association of exporters on April 22 called for ushering in a robust and competitive manufacturing in India to enable exports to bounce back. "The recent exports figure has been quite disappointing. The declining trend which started in the latter part of 2014 has further aggravated in 2015," the Federation of Indian Export Organisations' new president S.C. Ralhan told reporters here. "Negative growth in manufacturing in 2013-14 followed by a modest growth expected in 2014-15 did impact exports," he added. India's merchandise exports in March at $23.95 billion took a major hit and were down 21 percent from the same month of last year. Goods exports fell in March for the fourth month running. In the process, the country's trade deficit for March stood at its highest since November last at $11.87 billion, as against $10.95 billion for the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. "Most of our factories are working for eight hours against 24 hours earlier as orders from Europe have dried up," Ralhan said. Lamenting that the cost of credit in the country continues to be high, Ralhan said: "The drop in key rates marginally by RBI has not lowered the borrowing rates and thus government has to re-introduce interest subvention (for exporters) of 3 percent immediately with effect from April 1, 2014." In its blueprint for enhancing exports set out in the new Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 unveiled earlier this month, the government has merged all the earlier export promotion projects under two plans - the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and the Served from India scheme (SFIS) for services exporters. "While the new foreign trade policy has come, the reduction of rates in MEIS and SEIS have hit exporters badly. The MEIS benefit should be restored at the same level as it existed under the earlier scheme at least for 2015-16," Ralhan added. Further, as a way to increase India's visibility in overseas markets, the government should grant 100 percent reimbursement of stall charges to exporters for participation in trade fairs and exhibitions abroad, he said.

Daiichi exits Sun Pharma in India's largest bulk deal
In the largest bulk deal on Dalal Street, Japanese pharmaceuticals giant Daiichi Sankyo on April 22 sold its entire 8.9 per cent stake in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries for $3.2 billion (about Rs 20,000 crore), at an average price of Rs 931.60 a share to a clutch of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) led by Goldman Sachs, the government of Singapore and Aranda Investments. Daiichi sold 215 million shares at the lower end of the band of Rs 932 a share (the upper end was Rs 1,043 a share) of the book building issue, which opened Monday evening. As a result, Sun Pharma shares dropped nine per cent, their steepest fall in six years, to close at Rs 951.60 apiece on Tuesday. The shares were sold at an 11 per cent discount to Monday’s closing price, which explains the fall in the stock. Daiichi’s stock, on the other hand, closed 4.4 per cent higher on the Tokyo stock exchange. Goldman Sachs, the banker for the transaction, was also one of the top buyers, with Rs 4,765 crore of investment from its Singapore subsidiary, stock exchange data showed. Aranda Investments Mauritius, a Temasek subsidiary, invested Rs 1,875 crore in the issue, while the government of Singapore (Government Investment Company) invested Rs 1,173 crore. Sun Pharma said its promoter Dilip Shanghvi did not buy any shares in Tuesday’s transaction. Till the time of going to print, the stock exchange did not give data on all the buyers. The deal beat many records on Dalal Street. A look at exchange statistics for Tuesday showed the size of the transaction was more than twice that of the previous biggest bulk deal. It also marked the highest single-day foreign portfolio investment into the equity market, as well as higher cash market volumes than the day the National Democratic Alliance government came to power last year. The Rs 20,000-crore deal is more than twice a 2012 deal in which Citigroup sold Rs 9,393 crore worth of HDFC shares in a bulk deal. On April 21, FIIs were net buyers by Rs 17,488.73 crore, with most of the funds allocated to the Daiichi deal. This was 95.28 per cent higher than the previous single-day record (February 2012, when FIIs were net buyers by Rs 8,955.3 crore). The daily cash market volumes for Tuesday stood at Rs 44,970.51 crore, against Rs 43,036.50 crore in May 2014, when the results of the general elections were declared. The only other time cash market volumes have been higher was in May 2009 (Rs 51,903.46 crore). Daiichi’s exit from the Indian market roiled the rupee, which fell to an intra-day low of 63.15 a dollar. However, it recovered later in the day, following intervention by the Reserve Bank of India. The BSE Sensex was down 0.75 per cent. In 2008, Daiichi had bought Ranbaxy from Malvinder and Shivinder Singh for $4.6 billion. The acquisition did not go well for the Japanese company, as Ranbaxy was found guilty of numerous violations of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules. The company paid a penalty of $500 million to the FDA to settle the matter and the value of Daiichi’s stake fell about half. In April last year, Daiichi agreed to merge Ranbaxy with Sun Pharmaceuticals in an all-stock deal worth $4 billion, which included Ranbaxy’s debt of $800 million. The merger made Sun Pharmaceuticals the world’s fifth-largest speciality generic drugs company and the biggest Indian drug company, with a significant lead in market share. Analysts said the Sun Pharma management would now focus on addressing Ranbaxy’s issues with the US FDA, as four out of five US-centric facilities remained under a US FDA embargo. “Post offloading, the stock has corrected 10 per cent and is down about 20 per cent from its all-time high. This has provided an ideal opportunity to re-enter the stock. We will revisit our target price after the fourth-quarter results, as we will have the financials of the combined entity,” said an analyst with ICICI Securities. The analyst had a ‘buy’ rating on the Sun Pharmaceuticals stock. Sun Pharmaceutical will continue to see rapid growth in the coming years, analysts say. The company’s promoters, Dilip Shanghvi and his family, now own 54.7 per cent stake in Sun Pharma. Shanghvi’s stake had fallen from 64 per cent, following the all-stock deal to merge Ranbaxy with itself, announced in April last year. Daiichi had received 8.9 per cent stake in Sun Pharma in lieu of its ownership of Ranbaxy.

India among top five markets for Japanese auto majors
There's something about India as a market that's enticing the behemoths of automobiles. And they're coming in hordes. The country now ranks among the top markets for Japanese automobile companies like Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda and Toyota among others. Although thanks to Maruti Suzuki's market leadership in the car segment, India has been topping Suzuki's global markets both in terms of volumes as well as revenues, now the situation is being replicated by other Japanese biggies like Yamaha, Honda and Toyota as India moves up the global pecking order. The Indian market now ranks among the top five markets globally for almost all the top Japanese automobile brands. Take Honda Cars India, the four-wheeler local subsidiary of Honda Motor Corp. Thanks to some top-gear growth in the last two years, India now ranks as Honda's fourth biggest market by volumes. Said Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice-president, marketing & sales, Honda Cars India: “India ranks after the top three markets of US, China and Japan globally thanks to our good growth run for the past two years. HCI clocked 41% growth 2014-15 selling 1.89 lakh units up from 1.34 lakh units the year before. In 2013-14, we clocked a growth of 83% year-on-year Leaving out the luxury cars Honda is the fastest growing car brand in India. Our cur rent market share in India is over 7%.” Honda's top-gear run has prompted the Japa nese car maker to expand ca pacity at its second plant in Ra asthan from 1.2 lakh units to 1.8 lakh units. “Our target is to sell 3 lakh units in India by 2016-17.” Ditto for fellow Japanese brand Yamaha which now pegs India just after its globa op market Indonesia. Said Roy Kurian, VP-marketing and sales, Yamaha Motor India: “India will become Yama ha's second largest volume market after Indonesia by year-end though there will be quite a large gap between the No1 and No2 markets. Earlier Vietnam used to be our second largest market but that is now expected to slide to No3 in the pecking order.” Yamaha is already adding another 1.8 million units (in phases) thanks to its new plant in Chennai.Along with its existing plant in Surajpur, the fresh capacity will take Yamaha's total two-wheeler production in India to nearly 3 million units. For Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Thailand, Indonesia and India comprise the troika of “significant markets“ in the Asia Pacific region. “India stands pretty tall in Toyota's gameplan and is the third mar ket after China and US in terms of importance,“ said Shekar Viswanathan, vicechairman and whole-time director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor. Even relative newcomers like Nissan are stepping on the gas for some India action. Said Arun Malhotra, MD, Nissan Motor India: “India is one of the largest hubs for the investment that the Renault-Nissan Alliance has envisaged for a very competitive market like India. Our manufacturing facility is the largest that the Alliance has developed so far across the world with a production capacity 480,000 units. India is the first, among other growth markets across the world where Datsun made a world debut.India to become fifth largest market in infrastructure projectsThe Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, (RICS) research report says India is all set to become fifth largest market in the world in infrastructure projects, up from 5.3 per cent in 2015 to 9.8 per cent in 2030. The report "Our Changing World: Let's be ready", calls for action in six areas support the profession and the sector in preparing for the challenges and opportunities. The report examines how global social and economic changes will require new skills, business models and responses to developing technologies over the next 15 years. "Real estate and construction sector in India is continuously evolving at a rapid pace. All stakeholders of this profession need to come together to attract high quality talent in this sector – something which we see as being critical in meeting long term growth." Sachin Sandhir, Global MD – Emerging Business, RICS, said. It added that professionals in the built 5environment sector must take concerted action to prepare for the unprecedented global change the sector will face up to 2030. The report draws on the views and perspectives of stakeholders from diverse specialisms and geographies across the surveying profession, globally. It captures the insights and expectations of what they project the most pertinent issues on the horizon will be leading to 2030. Through workshops, public forums and one-on-one interviews, more than 400 people from Asia, North America, South America, Europe and Africa shared their outlook of what the future may look like.Ratan Tata buys stake in Chinese smartphone major XiaomiChinese smartphone major Xiaomi said on April 26 that Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of the Tata group, has acquired a stake in Xiaomi Technology in a deal expected to bolster the company's presence in India. "This is the first investment by any Indian into Xiaomi," the company said in a release here. "Mr. Tata is one of the most well-respected business leaders in the world. An investment by him is an affirmation of the strategy we have undertaken in India so far," said Lei Jun, founder and chief executive of Xiaomi. "This is just the start of an exciting journey, and we are looking forward to bringing more products into India," he added. Without specifying financial details of the stake bought by Tata, the statement said that "in December last year, Xiaomi raised $1.1 billion at a valuation of $45 billion". On April 24, Xiaomi hosted its first global launch outside China, unveiling here its high-end flagship smartphone Mi 4i model, that supports six Indian languages, at Rs.12,999.DISCLAIMERThis newsletter is compilation of news articles from various business-e-newspapers and in no way is an endorsement or reflection of Embassy of India, Berne views.