News Roundup: Alexandria Real Estate Looks To Invest $1B In India

BY: TEAM VCC
Source: http://www.vccircle.com


Alexandria Real Estate Looks To Invest $1B In India - Alexandria Real Estate Equities is setting the stage for a $1-billion rollout in India. The US-based NYSE-listed multi-billion-dollar real estate investment trust (RIET) focuses on owing the real estate and related infrastructure for the healthcare sector, is understood to be in advanced stages of owning at least 15 multi-specialty hospital properties in India. Alexandria is in fairly advanced discussions with major healthcare players in India in an effort to either take over the real estate assets on which the hospitals stand or make significant inroads in putting up greenfield projects. (Business Standard)

Source: http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/news-roundup-alexandria-real-estate-looks-to-invest-1b-in-india

Komatsu Opens Second Production Base in India

By: Press Release
Source: http://www.komatsu.com



Komatsu Ltd. (President and CEO: Masahiro Sakane) held an opening ceremony at Komatsu India Private Limited today for its second production base in India. Komatsu India began operation in January this year, producing large dump trucks for mines in India.
In 1958, Komatsu signed a technical assistance agreement for bulldozers with the Government of India. This agreement was later passed to BHARAT EARTH MOVERS LTD. (BEML), an undertaking of the Government, through which Komatsu continued to make contributions to India's production of construction equipment. In 1998, Komatsu established L&T-Komatsu Limited jointly with Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and embarked on the production of hydraulic excavators.
As the 21st century was ushered in, the Indian economy was gaining full momentum in growth, expanding the nation's energy needs and infrastructure investments. As a result, India's resource development projects are buoyant, driven by the thriving demand for coal for thermal power generation and for the production of iron, copper and non-ferrous metals. Against this backdrop, the mining industry is modernizing operations with equipment, and this is sharply increasing demand for large equipment for mining use. Anticipating a high level of orders for off-highway dump trucks and other equipment to continue into the future, Komatsu decided to build this new local production base and commenced the construction in May last year.
Komatsu India's plant shares the basic design concepts with the Ibaraki Plant in Japan, which also opened in January this year, featuring a simple assembly line configuration and assembly instruction display system, among others. By making the production processes "visible" at the plants, Komatsu has established a solid quality assurance system.

Source: http://www.komatsu.com/CompanyInfo/press/2007032818281516865.html

New law to boost mining investment in India: Caterpillar

By: MSN News
Source: http://news.in.msn.com


Singapore, Oct 18 (PTI) Foreign investments in India�s mining sector will boom once the draft bill on the sector is passed by parliament, infrastructure major Caterpillar Asia said at a conference here today.

The Government is expected to introduce the draft bill to Parliament in the forthcoming Winter session.
"Our customers tell us that foreigners'' appetite for investment in the Indian mining sector will increase significantly as they gain confidence with the backing of the new law," Kevin Thieneman, President for Caterpillar Asia, said at the annual Global Entrepolis Singapore conference.

Caterpillar, a global heavy-duty machinery producer, has several customers in the infrastructure and mining sectors in India.

Thieneman -- who is also the chairman of the Caterpillar China -- said Indonesia and Vietnam had modernised their mining laws and it was now for India to do so and bring about certainties in the sector and boost investor confidence.

He said investors would want the law to provide security and certainty for their investments in the mining projects, which have grown bigger and involve high risks.

Among major changes in the law would be the uniform structure of royalties across the country instead of the current state-by-state tax structure, Theineman said.

Speaking to PTI after addressing the conference, he said the Indian mining industry was expecting the law to be passed by December though it would depend on parliamentary proceedings.

Sounding bullish on business prospects in India, he noted the slower parliamentary process but said he was "hopeful" that the new law will be passed in the next parliamentary session and give boost to the mining sector.

The conference was opened by Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang who said emerging Asia would provide growth opportunities in an increasingly volatile environment. PTI CORR MM

Source: http://news.in.msn.com/international/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5523326

Caterpillar to Invest $200 Million to Meet Rising Indian Demand

By:Thomas Kutty Abraham
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com

Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, plans to invest $200 million in India over five years to make construction equipment as demand grows in the second-fastest growing major economy.

The company is open to forming joint ventures with local manufacturers as it seeks to boost sales in India, where the government plans to add 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of roads a day, Richard Lavin, Caterpillar’s group president for the Asia region, said in an interview with Bloomberg-UTV.

“We’ve got to be manufacturing locally in order to be competitive in India and we are working right now on plans to significantly increase our investment in manufacturing engines and machines,” Lavin said. “In the coming years, a majority of our construction and mining equipment sales will take place in Asia Pacific, and India will play a large role.”

Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens is trying to position the Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar to benefit from growth in Asia by 2020 as sales drop at home in the U.S. Revenue share of the Asia-Pacific region will grow “aggressively” over the next 10 years, Lavin said.

India will award contracts worth 1 trillion rupees ($21 billion) to build about 7,500 miles of roads through June and the government will ease investment rules to boost highway projects, Kamal Nath, Minister for Road Transport and Highways said on Nov. 4. The nation needs $70 billion in investments in the next three to four years to meet its target of laying 4,350 miles of roads each year, he said in September.

‘Focus on Infrastructure’

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is aiming to accelerate India’s economic growth to between 9 percent and 10 percent over the next decade. Gross domestic product growth in Asia’s third- biggest economy may slow to as low as 6 percent in the year ending March, from an average 8.5 percent in the previous five years, as the worst global recession in seven decades hurt access to foreign capital.

“We are very encouraged by the focus on infrastructure build up in India, especially the roads and highways,” Lavin said. “We are looking at opportunities in working with our dealers and partners to be a part of that.”

Caterpillar is close to an agreement on an engine-making partnership in India and has received joint-venture offers from equipment makers in China, Lavin said on Aug. 4. It plans to extend loans to buyers of bulldozers and excavators in India and is talking to the government for approval for its financing unit, Lavin said.

Caterpillar on Oct. 20 said third-quarter profit dropped to $404 million from $868 million. Caterpillar has slashed inventories and production amid the worst decline in its markets since the Great Depression. It cut about 18,700 full-time jobs and about the same number of temporary workers since December 2008 as demand faltered.

About 550 U.S. employees have returned or will return to work before the end of 2010, including support, management and production employees as demand increases, the company said on Oct. 26.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=az2v5ATsqoNg 

Global investors' interest in India still high

By : The Economic Times

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

The current global scenario might be one of gloom, with markets in the US and in Europe on the brink of a double dip recession, but interest in Indian real estate is still high among global investors, said Carlo Barel di Sant' Albano, chairman of the board of global property advisory firm Cushman & Wakefield.

"If a private equity player with a good track record comes up with a project in India, he will still find capital," he says. Of course, the time taken to raise money has increased, as many international investors are averse to investing at the moment. "But it is clear from all the investors we speak to that they are trying to figure out how to put money in this part of the world, even today," he adds.

Today Asia is a very critical part of any corporate or investors' strategic plan. For Albano, India is at the centre of that strategy, alongside China because of its size and growth prospects. "If you look at the growth prospects in other parts of the globe, given what is happening in the US and in Europe, Asia is clearly an important driver for growth in the future," says Albano.

Over the next few years, investor confidence in India is expected to improve, as transparency and regulation improve. "This will push more capital into real estate," he says. In India, foreign direct investment in real estate already ranks fourth among other sectors, which is a fairly high position considering the regulations that exist for FDI in real estate. When one talks about investments, a comparison between India and China is inevitable.

Albano points out that China is ahead in terms of investment in infrastructure and India has some catching up to do in terms of infrastructure. "This scale in different cities in China provides extra flexibility and a bigger canvas for investors." India, on the other hand, is ahead in terms of availability of human capital.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/global-investors-interest-in-india-still-high/articleshow/10224652.cms?google_editors_picks=true