AFG Venture Group


AFG Venture Group Newsletter : October 2009 - India - A Snapshot
12-Oct-2009
AFG Venture Group Newsletter : October 2009 EDITOR’S COMMENT Welcome to AFG Venture Dispatches, your insight into current issues and items of interest for Emerging, Technology and Growth Companies across Australasia. India's expanding middle class is developing an appetite for foreign goods and service. Exporters worldwide are keeping an eye on the opportunities. Australian companies would do well to understand this market and how to operate effectively with it. Articles, comments or letters are most welcome and can be sent to editor@afgventuregroup.com. The next edition will be in December 2009. India - A Snapshot - this month's theme "India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India alone." - Mark Twain India, the most populous democracy in the world, has a long history of cultural, philosophical and commercial wealth. A region of historic trade routes and vast empires, today, it is the twelfth largest economy at market exchange rates and the fourth largest in purchasing power, and growing. In 1991, India shifted its focus from self-sufficiency to opening up to international trade and investment, and it is becoming a greater player in the global economy. This delayed integration, where exports still only make up 15% of GDP and with a banking system that had adopted conservative investment strategies, meant they did not face the shock to their financial system as experienced in other parts of the world. Their economy has demonstrated resilience. The largest change is that the middle class are now consuming innovative foreign technologies and products that are adding to their infrastructure and therefore development. And the increased prosperity is spreading. The potential is a population with significant purchasing power of over 400 million people. With a shared language and British influence, opportunities exist for Australian companies to partner, invest or trade with India. Over the last five years India has been our fastest growing trading partner and a recently signed free trade agreement indicates the potential. Our experience and expertise in finance, education, information and green technology, food processing, international trade and services, can bring value to Indian organisations and enterprises. Before engaging with any counterparty it is worthwhile to know something of their views, values and perspectives. This Edition presents a small snapshot of views from and about India. Their economy, trade liberalisation developments and education are covered plus we include a few perspectives born of the sub-continent. "Finally, I have to say that the most surprising aspect has been the speed at which the folks in India adapt to Western practices. They learn fast, really, really fast" - Sanjay Kumar, former CEO of Computer Associates India's Emerging Demands - Opportunities for Australian Innovations - Khimji Vaghjiani, CEO, Solar-Gem Indian Macroeconomic Developments - Gliding through Global Ties and Emerging Out of the Woods - Dr. Tripati Rao, Associate Professor, Business and Environment Group, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow ASEAN - India Free Trade Agreement - James Donoghue and Toby Grainger, International Partner, Blake Dawson Asia Business Services Ltd, Jakarta and Senior Associate, Blake Dawson, Jakarta India-Vietnam: Strategic and Economic Complementarities - Dr. Pankaj Jha, Associate Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses Discovering India - Michael Fay, Head of Education Services, AFG Venture Group End to the Dollars Dominance - Dr. Deepak K. Srivastava, Assoc Professor of International Business, Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad Lindley Edwards & Martin Paech - Group CEO, AFG Venture Group and CEO, Zaffyre International "A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people." - Mohandas Gandhi "Europe is merely powerful; India is beautiful." - Savitri Devi "According to the true Indian view, our consciousness of the world, merely as the sum total of things that exist, and as governed by laws, is imperfect. But it is perfect when our consciousness realizes all things as spiritually one with it, and therefore capable of giving us joy." - Manmohan Singh If you have any comments or would like to submit an article, please email the editor@afgventuregroup.com - your comments and feedback are always welcome. We seek articles for the next issue that will focus on 'Social Entrepreneurs, Social Enterprise, Social Capital and Social Ventures' The due date for contributions will be mid November 2009. If you were forwarded this newsletter and would like to receive your own copy, wish to change your e-mail address or no longer wish to receive further copies of Venture Dispatches, please contact editor@afgventuregroup.com. A Final Word "If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its most choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India."? - Ma Mueller About AFG Venture Group AFG Venture Group is an Asia and Australia based corporate advisory and consulting firm which combines the skills and experience of: Asean Focus Group, with its 20 year history of creating alliances, relationships and transactions in South East Asia and India; and Venture Group with its 14 year history of corporate and equities advisory in Australia, undertaking merger, acquisition, divestment and fund raising for private and public companies. AFG Venture Group is an Asian and Australia based corporate advisory and consulting firm focused on business services. Our Group was formed by merging Asean Focus Group, with its 20 year history of creating alliances, relationships and transactions in South East Asia, and Venture Group, with its 14 year history of corporate and equities advisory in Australia. Our principal offices are in Sydney but we have representative and joint venture offices throughout Asia including Bangkok, Chennai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Jakarta, Vientiane (Laos), Manila, Mumbai, New Delhi, Singapore, Yangon (Myanmar). AFG Venture Group is pleased to announce that the Group has recently become a signatory to The Copenhagen Communique which has been initiated by University of Oxford - Programme for Sustainability Leadership. This is a business initiative urging global political leaders to take unified and immediate action on climate change. For additional information please refer to www.copenhagencommunique.com.