LONDON: BP Plc chief executive Tony Hayward will step down as head of the oil giant on Oct. 1 and be replaced by fellow executive Robert Dudley News of Hayward's departure came as the company announced on Tuesday it would take a charge as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill amounting to $32.2 billion, driving BP to a second quarter loss of $16.97 billion.
"The tragedy of the Macondo well explosion and subsequent environmental damage has been a watershed," chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said, announcing Hayward's departure. "BP remains a strong business ... but it will be a different company going forward."
BP said Dudley, currently head of BP's U.S. operations, would be based in London and hand over his present duties to Lamar McKay. Hayward will receive a year's salary amounting to 1.045 million pounds ($1.6 million). Excluding oil spill and other non-operating costs, BP's replacement cost profit was $4.98 billion, in line with the average forecast from a Reuters poll of 11 analysts.
Replacement cost profit strips out gains or losses related to changes in the value of fuel inventories and as such is comparable with net income under U.S. accounting rules.
In a third statement BP said it planned to sell assets worth up to $30 billion over the next 18 months and cut its net debt level down to between $10 billion and $15 billion over the next 18 months. The company said it would consider its position on future dividend payments at the time of its fourth-quarter results
Success in my Habit
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
SBI, RIL in Fortune 500 global list
Eight Indian companies, including oil major Indian Oil Corporation and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, have made the cut in the list of the world's 500 largest companies compiled by Fortune.
The league of 500 elite companies for 2010 is topped by US retailer Wal-Mart Stores, followed by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and another oil major, Exxon Mobil, in that order.
Besides IOC and RIL, the other Indian companies in the list are steel-maker Tata Steel, auto company Tata Motors, oil entities Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Oil & Natural Gas and public sector bank SBI.
Tata Motors has made an entry into the list for the first time this year, while seven other Indian entities, which were part of the list in the previous year as well, are also featured in this list.
The list also features Citigroup, ArcelorMittal, Pepsico and Motorola, four companies led by people with Indian roots.
IOC has the highest rank of 125 among the featured Indian companies, followed by RIL at the 175th spot, SBI (282), BPCL (307), HPCL (354), Tata Steel (410), ONGC (413) and Tata Motors (442).
According to the magazine, IOC had revenues to the tune of USD 54.28 billion, RIL USD 41.08 billion, SBI USD 28.21 billion, BPCL USD 26.59 billion, HPCL USD 23.88 billion, Tata Steel USD 21.58 billion, ONGC USD 21.44 billion and Tata Motors USD 19.5 billion.
Vikram Pandit-led Citigroup is at 33rd place, with revenues of USD 108.78 billion, while NRI billionaire L N Mittal's ArcelorMittal bagged the 99th position with revenues worth USD 65.11 billion.
Pepsico, run by Indira Nooyi, was ranked at 171st place with revenues of USD 43.23 billion and Sanjay Jha's Motorola is at the 391st place, with USD 22.06 billion in revenues.
Interestingly, American companies have cornered 139 seats in the list, followed by Japan with 71, and then China, with 46 seats. This year, there are 12 Fortune Global 500 companies run by women, compared to 13 last year.
The magazine said that Wal-Mart Stores had revenues to the tune of USD 408. 21 billion, while Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil raked in revenues worth USD 285.12 billion and USD 284.65 billion, respectively.
Others on the list include BP at fourth place, followed by Toyota Motor (5th), Japan Post Holdings (6th), Sinopec (7th), State Grid (8th), AXA (9th) and China National Petroleum (10th.)
The league of 500 elite companies for 2010 is topped by US retailer Wal-Mart Stores, followed by oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and another oil major, Exxon Mobil, in that order.
Besides IOC and RIL, the other Indian companies in the list are steel-maker Tata Steel, auto company Tata Motors, oil entities Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Oil & Natural Gas and public sector bank SBI.
Tata Motors has made an entry into the list for the first time this year, while seven other Indian entities, which were part of the list in the previous year as well, are also featured in this list.
The list also features Citigroup, ArcelorMittal, Pepsico and Motorola, four companies led by people with Indian roots.
IOC has the highest rank of 125 among the featured Indian companies, followed by RIL at the 175th spot, SBI (282), BPCL (307), HPCL (354), Tata Steel (410), ONGC (413) and Tata Motors (442).
According to the magazine, IOC had revenues to the tune of USD 54.28 billion, RIL USD 41.08 billion, SBI USD 28.21 billion, BPCL USD 26.59 billion, HPCL USD 23.88 billion, Tata Steel USD 21.58 billion, ONGC USD 21.44 billion and Tata Motors USD 19.5 billion.
Vikram Pandit-led Citigroup is at 33rd place, with revenues of USD 108.78 billion, while NRI billionaire L N Mittal's ArcelorMittal bagged the 99th position with revenues worth USD 65.11 billion.
Pepsico, run by Indira Nooyi, was ranked at 171st place with revenues of USD 43.23 billion and Sanjay Jha's Motorola is at the 391st place, with USD 22.06 billion in revenues.
Interestingly, American companies have cornered 139 seats in the list, followed by Japan with 71, and then China, with 46 seats. This year, there are 12 Fortune Global 500 companies run by women, compared to 13 last year.
The magazine said that Wal-Mart Stores had revenues to the tune of USD 408. 21 billion, while Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil raked in revenues worth USD 285.12 billion and USD 284.65 billion, respectively.
Others on the list include BP at fourth place, followed by Toyota Motor (5th), Japan Post Holdings (6th), Sinopec (7th), State Grid (8th), AXA (9th) and China National Petroleum (10th.)
TKM to invest Rs 500 crore to make Etios engines
New Delhi: Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) will invest Rs 500 crore to make engines and gearboxes for Toyota’s new small car, Etios, that is expected to be launched by year-end.
TKM subsidiary, Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts (TKAP), would set up the plant with an annual capacity to produce 52,000 engines and 1.7 lakh gearboxes, which would also be exported to Thailand and Argentina.
The auto component arm will also invest an additional Rs 500 crore, to increase the capacity to make transmission boxes by 2013 and also set up a third plant with a capacity of 1 lakh engines per year. The company will hire 500 employees for the new unit.
TKM, a joint venture between Japanese automaker Toyota and local business group of Kirloskar, operates two manufacturing plants at Bengaluru in Karnataka.
The first plant, set up with an investment of Rs 1,700 crore, makes Innova, Corolla and the Fortuner SUV, while the second plant that absorbed an investment of Rs 3,200 crore, will churn out its small car, Etios, later this year.
TKM subsidiary, Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts (TKAP), would set up the plant with an annual capacity to produce 52,000 engines and 1.7 lakh gearboxes, which would also be exported to Thailand and Argentina.
The auto component arm will also invest an additional Rs 500 crore, to increase the capacity to make transmission boxes by 2013 and also set up a third plant with a capacity of 1 lakh engines per year. The company will hire 500 employees for the new unit.
TKM, a joint venture between Japanese automaker Toyota and local business group of Kirloskar, operates two manufacturing plants at Bengaluru in Karnataka.
The first plant, set up with an investment of Rs 1,700 crore, makes Innova, Corolla and the Fortuner SUV, while the second plant that absorbed an investment of Rs 3,200 crore, will churn out its small car, Etios, later this year.
Prestigious mathematics prize to be awarded to Indian professor
New Delhi: Radha Charan Gupta has been chosen to be awarded the Kenneth O. May Prize for the History of Mathematics for his work on the history of development of trigonometry in India.
A retired mathematics professor, Gupta, is the first Indian to receive the award, which will be conferred at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Hyderabad during August 19-27, being held in India for the first time.
Named after mathematician and historian Kenneth O. May, founder of the International Commission for the History of Mathematics and instituted in 1989, the award consists of a bronze medal and is given once in four years in recognition of a mathematician's scholarly work in the field.
The nine-day ICM meet will be attended by around 3,000 delegates from across the globe and will be inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil.
A retired mathematics professor, Gupta, is the first Indian to receive the award, which will be conferred at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Hyderabad during August 19-27, being held in India for the first time.
Named after mathematician and historian Kenneth O. May, founder of the International Commission for the History of Mathematics and instituted in 1989, the award consists of a bronze medal and is given once in four years in recognition of a mathematician's scholarly work in the field.
The nine-day ICM meet will be attended by around 3,000 delegates from across the globe and will be inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil.
Ford India begins export of compact car Figo
Flags off first consignment to South Africa; looks at other markets.
Chennai: Ford Figo, the compact car from Ford India, is going international.
The first consignment of 1,200 Figos was flagged off to Durban, South Africa, from the Chennai port by Ford India's President and Managing Director, Mr Michael Boneham, in the presence of the Chairman of Chennai Port Trust, Capt Subhash Kumar.
There is an order for 5,000 Figos from South Africa. “We are also looking at other emerging markets for Figo and will soon announce the new destinations other than the US and Europe,” he told newspersons at the Chennai port.
Export hub
The Indian plant will be the only Ford unit to export Figos. “We want to make India the export hub for Figo,” he said.
Ford India will export the 1.4-litre petrol and diesel Figo variants to Ford Motor Company of South Africa.
“Just as the Figo has taken the Indian market by storm, we are confident that it will have a similar impact in South Africa,” said Mr Boneham, who will be in South Africa shortly to receive the consignment.
It will take two weeks for the vehicles to reach Durban through the ro-ro ship operated by K-Line, the Japanese shipping line.
Since its debut in March, the Ford Figo has generated over 24,000 purchase orders for Ford India. In June, Ford India sold 7,269 units compared with 1,982 units in June 2009, a 267 per cent rise. Mr Boneham said Ford India had been exporting the ‘Fiesta' in the last four years.
It also exports nearly 2,500 engines a month to Thailand, where the Ford unit in the country will soon launch the Fiesta.
Mr Boneham said Ford India today commenced its second shift at the company's plant in Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai to meet the increasing demand for Figo. This will increase the production capacity of the small car by 30-40 per cent.
The company plans to hire 600-700 personnel at the plant and most of them would be diploma holders and fresh pass-outs.
Ford India manufactures Ikon, Endeavour, Fiesta and Figo. It employs around 4,000 people.
Chennai: Ford Figo, the compact car from Ford India, is going international.
The first consignment of 1,200 Figos was flagged off to Durban, South Africa, from the Chennai port by Ford India's President and Managing Director, Mr Michael Boneham, in the presence of the Chairman of Chennai Port Trust, Capt Subhash Kumar.
There is an order for 5,000 Figos from South Africa. “We are also looking at other emerging markets for Figo and will soon announce the new destinations other than the US and Europe,” he told newspersons at the Chennai port.
Export hub
The Indian plant will be the only Ford unit to export Figos. “We want to make India the export hub for Figo,” he said.
Ford India will export the 1.4-litre petrol and diesel Figo variants to Ford Motor Company of South Africa.
“Just as the Figo has taken the Indian market by storm, we are confident that it will have a similar impact in South Africa,” said Mr Boneham, who will be in South Africa shortly to receive the consignment.
It will take two weeks for the vehicles to reach Durban through the ro-ro ship operated by K-Line, the Japanese shipping line.
Since its debut in March, the Ford Figo has generated over 24,000 purchase orders for Ford India. In June, Ford India sold 7,269 units compared with 1,982 units in June 2009, a 267 per cent rise. Mr Boneham said Ford India had been exporting the ‘Fiesta' in the last four years.
It also exports nearly 2,500 engines a month to Thailand, where the Ford unit in the country will soon launch the Fiesta.
Mr Boneham said Ford India today commenced its second shift at the company's plant in Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai to meet the increasing demand for Figo. This will increase the production capacity of the small car by 30-40 per cent.
The company plans to hire 600-700 personnel at the plant and most of them would be diploma holders and fresh pass-outs.
Ford India manufactures Ikon, Endeavour, Fiesta and Figo. It employs around 4,000 people.
Indian services sector witnesses two-year high growth in June 2010
New Delhi: The services sector in India grew at its fastest in two years in June 2010 led by an increase in business expectations and new orders.
According to the HSBC Markit Business Activity Index, based on a survey of 400 firms, the service sector rose to 64.0 in June 2010 from 58.2 in May 2010, pointing to a substantial rate of growth as a figure above 50 indicates expansion.
All the 6 sub-sectors covered by the survey recorded growth in new business ventures since May 2010, with postal services and telecommunications registering the fastest expansion.
The survey also highlighted that the Indian services companies raised their charges for the seventh consecutive month.
According to the HSBC Markit Business Activity Index, based on a survey of 400 firms, the service sector rose to 64.0 in June 2010 from 58.2 in May 2010, pointing to a substantial rate of growth as a figure above 50 indicates expansion.
All the 6 sub-sectors covered by the survey recorded growth in new business ventures since May 2010, with postal services and telecommunications registering the fastest expansion.
The survey also highlighted that the Indian services companies raised their charges for the seventh consecutive month.
India second on the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index: Deloitte
New Delhi: India ranks second, in terms of manufacturing competence as per the 2010 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index; a result of the collaboration between Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and the US Council on Competitiveness.
"In less than a decade, a new world order for manufacturing competitiveness has emerged along with a tectonic shift in regional manufacturing competence," the report said. Furthermore, the detailed report highlighted that the rise in the manufacturing competitiveness of three countries in particular—China (10), India (8.15) and the Republic of Korea (6.79)—appears to be parallel to the rapidly expanding and important Asian market.
"Perhaps more surprising is that India is now positioned at number two and gaining an even stronger foothold on that position over the next five years," the report said. In addition, the report brought to light India's rich talent pool of scientists, researchers, and engineers along with its vast, educated English-speaking workforce and the democratic administration; in all making it an attractive destination for the manufacturers.
Noting that since the mid-1990s, India's software industry has increased to new heights and post-economic liberation has also opened a pathway to unprecedented market opportunities for Indian manufacturing, the report said moreover, beyond low-cost, Indian manufacturers gained experience in quality improvement and Japanese principles of quality management, with the largest number of Deming Award winners outside of Japan.
The report further points out that "The country is also rapidly expanding its capabilities in engineering design and development and embedded software development, which forms an integral part of many modern-day manufactured products."
"In less than a decade, a new world order for manufacturing competitiveness has emerged along with a tectonic shift in regional manufacturing competence," the report said. Furthermore, the detailed report highlighted that the rise in the manufacturing competitiveness of three countries in particular—China (10), India (8.15) and the Republic of Korea (6.79)—appears to be parallel to the rapidly expanding and important Asian market.
"Perhaps more surprising is that India is now positioned at number two and gaining an even stronger foothold on that position over the next five years," the report said. In addition, the report brought to light India's rich talent pool of scientists, researchers, and engineers along with its vast, educated English-speaking workforce and the democratic administration; in all making it an attractive destination for the manufacturers.
Noting that since the mid-1990s, India's software industry has increased to new heights and post-economic liberation has also opened a pathway to unprecedented market opportunities for Indian manufacturing, the report said moreover, beyond low-cost, Indian manufacturers gained experience in quality improvement and Japanese principles of quality management, with the largest number of Deming Award winners outside of Japan.
The report further points out that "The country is also rapidly expanding its capabilities in engineering design and development and embedded software development, which forms an integral part of many modern-day manufactured products."
IMF lifts India growth forecast to 9.4% in 2010
New Delhi: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday raised its India growth forecast for 2010 to 9.4 per cent from 8.8 per cent estimated in April.
In its July update of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) projections, the Washington-based multilateral agency, however, kept unchanged its 2011 India growth forecast at 8.4 per cent.
In a report released today, the IMF said that India's GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 9.4 per cent in 2010 as robust corporate profits and favourable financing conditions fuel investments.
The Government expects the country's economic growth to be over 8.5 per cent in 2010-11 (April-March). The growth forecast made by IMF and the Indian government are strictly not comparable, as they count different months for arriving at an annual period.
While IMF forecast is for the calendar year 2010, the Government makes its growth projection for fiscal year (April-March).
Reacting to the IMF's India GDP growth forecast upgrade, Mr T.C.A. Anant, Chief Statistician of India, told Business Line that this was a positive signal and reflected their confidence in the economic growth outlook for India in the near term.
“IMF is an independent body monitoring India. It is a positive signal. If there are similar signals and confirmation from other agencies (monitoring the Indian economy), it will give greater confidence to us about the Government's own assessment of the growth prospects for the year,” Mr Anant said.
Meanwhile, in the July update, the IMF has raised its global growth forecast for 2010 to 4.5 per cent from its earlier estimate of 4 per cent in the April 2010 WEO, reflecting stronger activity in the first half of 2010 (January-June).
The IMF said that the higher growth was on expectations of a modest but steady recovery in most advanced economies and strong growth in many developing and emerging economies.
At the same time, IMF has noted that downside risks have risen sharply amid renewed financial turbulence.
IMF expects the Chinese economy to grow by 10.5 per cent in 2010. It also said that the first quarter GDP numbers in Asia were generally stronger than anticipated at the time of the April 2010 WEO and high frequency indicators suggest that economic activity remained brisk during the second quarter.
The GDP growth forecast for Asia has been revised upwards to about 7.5 per cent from about 7 per cent in the April WEO.
Dr Pronab Sen, Principal Advisor, Planning Commission said that he was not surprised by the IMF move to raise India GDP growth forecast to 9.4 per cent.
“It is not a surprise. It was on expected lines given that we had a strong GDP performance in January-March 2010 (Q1 for IMF's calculation) and will also have good one in April-June (Q2 for IMF's calculation) due to base effect,” Dr Sen told Business Line.
He highlighted that the January-March quarter had the highest weightage in GDP calculation. There was also stronger than expected growth performance in that quarter. “The fourth quarter (January-March) is usually the best quarter for us,” Dr Sen said.
When IMF came up with its initial forecast in April, it was unlikely that they would have factored the actual numbers for January-March 2010.
“Since now they are getting a better idea of the performance in the two quarters — January-March and April-June — which are high growth-cum-high weightage periods, they have pushed up the growth forecast,” Dr Sen said.
Dr Sen maintained that there was still a question mark over sustainability of investments even as many positive indications had emerged in the recent months.
In its July update of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) projections, the Washington-based multilateral agency, however, kept unchanged its 2011 India growth forecast at 8.4 per cent.
In a report released today, the IMF said that India's GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 9.4 per cent in 2010 as robust corporate profits and favourable financing conditions fuel investments.
The Government expects the country's economic growth to be over 8.5 per cent in 2010-11 (April-March). The growth forecast made by IMF and the Indian government are strictly not comparable, as they count different months for arriving at an annual period.
While IMF forecast is for the calendar year 2010, the Government makes its growth projection for fiscal year (April-March).
Reacting to the IMF's India GDP growth forecast upgrade, Mr T.C.A. Anant, Chief Statistician of India, told Business Line that this was a positive signal and reflected their confidence in the economic growth outlook for India in the near term.
“IMF is an independent body monitoring India. It is a positive signal. If there are similar signals and confirmation from other agencies (monitoring the Indian economy), it will give greater confidence to us about the Government's own assessment of the growth prospects for the year,” Mr Anant said.
Meanwhile, in the July update, the IMF has raised its global growth forecast for 2010 to 4.5 per cent from its earlier estimate of 4 per cent in the April 2010 WEO, reflecting stronger activity in the first half of 2010 (January-June).
The IMF said that the higher growth was on expectations of a modest but steady recovery in most advanced economies and strong growth in many developing and emerging economies.
At the same time, IMF has noted that downside risks have risen sharply amid renewed financial turbulence.
IMF expects the Chinese economy to grow by 10.5 per cent in 2010. It also said that the first quarter GDP numbers in Asia were generally stronger than anticipated at the time of the April 2010 WEO and high frequency indicators suggest that economic activity remained brisk during the second quarter.
The GDP growth forecast for Asia has been revised upwards to about 7.5 per cent from about 7 per cent in the April WEO.
Dr Pronab Sen, Principal Advisor, Planning Commission said that he was not surprised by the IMF move to raise India GDP growth forecast to 9.4 per cent.
“It is not a surprise. It was on expected lines given that we had a strong GDP performance in January-March 2010 (Q1 for IMF's calculation) and will also have good one in April-June (Q2 for IMF's calculation) due to base effect,” Dr Sen told Business Line.
He highlighted that the January-March quarter had the highest weightage in GDP calculation. There was also stronger than expected growth performance in that quarter. “The fourth quarter (January-March) is usually the best quarter for us,” Dr Sen said.
When IMF came up with its initial forecast in April, it was unlikely that they would have factored the actual numbers for January-March 2010.
“Since now they are getting a better idea of the performance in the two quarters — January-March and April-June — which are high growth-cum-high weightage periods, they have pushed up the growth forecast,” Dr Sen said.
Dr Sen maintained that there was still a question mark over sustainability of investments even as many positive indications had emerged in the recent months.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Infosys @ 30: The Story so far
It was a middle-class Indian’s dream and today after 30 years, Infosys has changed the way people look at India. Seven Indian men took the risk to think out of the box and it paid off. Thirty years on, Infosys is India’s most reputed company and is one of the best known brands in the global market.
On this day, NR Narayan Murthy and his six colleagues who worked with Patni Computer Systems, started Infosys Technologies in Pune with a meagre capital of Rs 10,000.
Infosys is synonymous with India’s IT growth. The main aim was to provide a world-class work environment and put India on the global map. The entrepreneurial dream of Narayan Murthy saw its first result in 1987, when the company signed a joint venture with Kurt Salmon Associates in US.
Major milestones in their 30-year-old journey:
2010
Infosys voted as the ‘Best Managed Company’ in India by Finance Asia
2009
Employee strength grew to over 1,00,000
2008
Revenues crossed USD 4.18 billion
2007
Reported Q2 revenue of over USD 1 billion. Annual revenues crossed USD 3 billion
2006
N. R. Narayana Murthy retired from the services of the company on turning 60.
Infosys celebrated 25 years. Revenues crossed USD 2 billion
Progeon was re-christened as Infosys BPO Ltd, effective 29 August 2006.
2005
Won the Global – Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) award
2004
Infosys Technologies became the first Indian listed software company to have a net profit of Rs 1,000 crore or more.
2003
Subsidiaries established in China and Australia
2002
Nandan M. Nilekani took over as CEO
2001
Offices opened in UAE and Argentina and a development centre in Japan
2000
Opened offices in France and Hong Kong, a global development center in Canada and UK and three development centers in the US
1999
Infosys was listed on NASDAQ
1993
Infosys got listed on BSE on June 14, 1993
1987
First international office at Boston, US
Infosys wanted to make an impact in the American market. The same year, the company opened its office in Boston. However in 1988, their KSA joint venture collapsed and Murthy and his associates were left in the lurch. During this period, one of their founding partners Ashok Arora, quit the company to join as a consultant in the US. But Murthy didn’t lose hope. His team continued with their struggle.
Their initial foray into US was through their first client Data Basics Corp. Then there was no looking back. The company went public in 1993 and introduced employee stock option. On the opening day itself, it was traded at Rs 115, though it was listed at Rs 95.
By then, it had started expanding its operations in US. Even today Infosys is the largest publicly traded IT services exporter in India, providing services to 315 large corporations, such as GE and Nortel, predominantly in the USA.
By the late 90s, it started expanding its operations in UK, Europe and Canada. In 1999, it became the first Indian company to be listed in Nasdaq. By this time, it started looking at options in the industry. It launched its business consulting services.
The Y2K fear had gripped the world by now. But Infosys was growing strong and its revenues touched $200mn in 2000 as India was now turning to be the IT hub.
Major acquisitions and partnerships
2010
Infosys Technologies chosen to manage Microsoft’s Internal IT Services
2009
Telstra selected Infosys as a key partner to support its five-year $450 million AUD application development and maintenance contracts.
2008
BBVA and Finacle from Infosys signed a Strategic Global Partnership.
2007
The company bought three of the service centers of Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics NV for $28 million.
2005
Infosys signed five-year global IT deal with ABN AMRO.
By then, Narayan Murthy had become a renowned entrepreneur and was listed among Time Magazine/CNN’s 25 most influential businessmen in the world.
Infosys became a household name and it was a dream for every youngster to be part of the global software giant. It was the most admired company in India – India’s pride.
In 2002, it was time for Murthy to step down as CEO and hand over the responsibility to Nandan Nilekani (one of the founding members). The team of seven was now reduced to five. But Murthy ensured he continued to be a mentor to his team.
Infosys knew it had to spread its wings and in 2003, it went on with its first major acquisition. It acquired Infosys Export Info services in Australia.
In 2005, it signed a landmark IT deal with ABN AMRO bank, which was considered as a key step to enter and expand its portfolio. It continued to expand its operations and ventured into BPO services and bought US firm McCamish systems. It also signed a major five-year deal with T-Mobile in UK.
In 2006, Nilekani stepped down to pave way to Kris Gopalakrishnan. Under Nilekani, the company aggressively went on acquiring or tying up with firms across the globe.
The government of India noticing his capabilities roped him to head the Unique Identity project. Due to this commitment, Nilekani sold all his shares and resigned from all the responsibilities he was handling in Infosys.
Today, the company stands tall with 1.13 lakh employees. That said, with founders still dominating the top rung, experts say it is time for the company to choose its successor to continue its success story.
HSBC buys RBS's India retail, commercial bank operations
LONDON: HSBC Holdings said it would buy the Indian retail and commercial banking businesses of Royal Bank of Scotland as the part-nationalised UK bank continues its retreat from overseas markets.
HSBC said it would pay a premium of up to $95 million over the tangible net asset value of the businesses when the deal completes, expected in the first half of next year. The price could be reduced if bad debts in the business increase during the next two years.
Sources have previously said HSBC would buy the businesses, which have 1.1 million customers, over 1,800 staff and 31 branches.
The portfolios had a gross asset value of $1.8 billion at the end of March. HSBC currently has about 2 million customers and 50 branches across 29 cities in the hard-to-enter Indian market.
RBS, 83 percent owned by the UK government, has sold a string of small non-core business in recent weeks as it refocuses on its key strengths. It is reversing a decade-long international expansion drive and has raised over $2.5 billion from exiting or selling over 20 businesses in the last 14 months
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