Questions about growing your business in India & China?

Prepare to Tap into Chindia by dialing in for the India, China & America (ICA) Institute's Global Virtual Seminar Series.

Join us for a Webinar on Tue, Feb 26 at 11am.

Dr. KRS Murthy, an internationally reputed Serial Entrepreneur and C-Level Executive with an executive track record in NASA, Bell Labs and GE, will present his vision of imminent mergers, acquisitions and consolidations in India, as well as between India and USA, thus launching India into the orbit of world's super technological and economic powers. He will discuss a variety of ways Indian entrepreneurs and NRI entrepreneurs could be part of this upcoming wave of the strange combination of organic and inorganic corporate value creation. Dr. Murthy will also address potentiality of the international M&A dynamics with respect to China, Korea and other countries.

The speaker will highlight a number of key factors that will drive industry consolidation, including the ability to gain economies of scale, access to Fortune 500 customers, talent cross fertilization, increased globalization of Indian companies, horizontal expansion of services and access to global investor resources and most importantly the IPO potential in the world's financial markets.

The attendees of this Webinar will benefit from understanding and preparing their companies to plan for financial resources for growth, acquisition or exits.

How much does the Webinar cost? Your only cost will be the long distance phone call to dial in.

Title: Corporate Growth & Acceleration: Organic & Inorganic Strategies in India & China
Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.3.9 (Panther®) or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/64470247 2

Print flyer to share information with your colleagues or students here.

China Business Briefing: Politics & the economy in 2008

The China Research Center, and the Center for International Business Education and Research at Georgia Tech, will host a panel presentation and discussion on the economic and political climate and expected developments in 2008.

Three experts will present on politics, the economy, and the business environment:

Dr. John W. Garver, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, will address political risk;

Dr. Haizheng Li, School of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology, will address key economic issues such as China's growth projections, inflation and the exchange rate; and

Guanming Fang, Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice, will address new legal provisions and challenges.

Date: Friday, February 22nd, 2008
Time: 12:00-2:00 p.m.
Location: The World Trade Center Atlanta, 303 Peachtree Street N.E., Lower Lobby Suite 100, Atlanta GA 30308; directions can be found at: http://www.wtcatlanta.com/events/111006IACO.html# Directions

Lunch is included. Seating is limited. Reservations are required; pre-payment is appreciated and will guarantee a place. Cost: $45 per person.

Please make your reservation with Lilia Postolachi (lilia@wtcatlanta.com; 404-813-6672) or Penelope Prime (prime_pb@mercer.edu, 678-547-6235).

Can India and China save the world's economy? (Monday Morning, Feb 12)
Stock market turmoil triggered by fears of a US recession in the wake of a wide-scale mortgage crisis has ignited debate over whether Asia's two rising economic stars are strong enough to power the world economy.  "What is occurring is the rise of other economies to balance out those of the US -- and that has to be a good thing", said Chris Devonshire, a business consultant specializing on China and India trade.

Exploring Africa: India behind China (The Economic Times, Feb 12)
India and China are Africa's new colonialists according to global financier George Soros. While that may be debatable, India lags China in its engagement with Africa. India is a rather timid investor in Africa compared to China in almost all sectors, including petroleum. In fact, China has managed to edge India out of many contracts over the past few years. That must change. Indian companies must aggressively step up their engagement with Africa for mutual benefit.

China threat. What threat? (Asia Times, Feb 12)
China's unprecedented industrial growth over the last two decades has raised the question of whether it now poses a threat to the security of the United States economically, militarily, or both. Economically, the extent to which China truly threatens the US depends at least in part on the chauvinistic assumption that any potential challenge to absolute US global economic dominance is threatening.

Could the India economic train be slowing? (International Herald Tribune, Feb 12)
Could the fast-moving India growth train finally be slowing? The largest public offering in India, Reliance Power, had a dismal first trading day of trading Monday, with its shares falling 17 percent below its price at offer last month when investors bought all available stock in less than a minute. Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex index closed down 4.78 percent, making it the worst major performer in depressed Asian markets.

India-Africa Summit next month (The Hindu, Feb 12)
Recognising the immense opportunities for cooperation with Africa, India is set to redefine its relations with the 54-nation continent by enhancing engagement, particularly in economic field. A fresh direction in the relationship is expected next month when the Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh holds "brainstorming" sessions with leaders of African countries at the India-Africa Forum Summit here.

China ready to join gas pipeline project if India stays away (The Economic Times, Feb 11)
China is ready to join Pakistan and Iran to build a pipeline to transport Iranian gas if India does not participate in the project, the media reported on Monday. Pakistan plans to import 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas a day from Iran through the pipeline and has said it is willing to consume an additional 1.05 billion cubic feet of gas if India does not join the project.

G-7 guns for oil subsidies in India, China (The Financial Express, Feb 10)
The Group of Seven nations has called for an end to oil subsidies used in China, India and Indonesia to shield domestic consumers from high energy prices. "It should be avoided to artificially lower domestic energy prices through fiscal measures," G-7 finance ministers and central bankers said on Saturday in Tokyo. "It works against market- based adjustment of energy demand."

China Spurs Coal-Price Surge (The Wall Street Journal, Feb 12)
China is doing for coal what it once did for oil: pushing prices to new highs, adding more pressure to the creaking global economy. China has long been a huge supplier of coal to itself and the rest of the world. But in the first half of last year, it imported more than it exported for the first time, setting off a near-doubling of most coal prices around the world. The capper came in late January when a winter of punishing snowstorms and power shortages led Beijing to suspend coal exports for at least two months.

Nuclear Power, Not Renewable Energy, is Risky Course for U.S. (Red Orbit, Feb 10)
Given the seriousness of the climate crisis, many thoughtful people, including Deseret Morning News Editor Joe Cannon, have argued that coal cannot be the source of our energy growth. I agree. He also advocated the revival of nuclear power as the mainstay of electricity growth amounting to 300 large power plants. This is risky, costly and unnecessary. Contrary to widely held opinion, renewable energy sources are quite sufficient to provide ample and reliable electricity for the United States.

Russia, India Reiterate Nuclear, Hydrocarbon Plans (Bloomberg, Feb 12)
Russia and India today reiterated plans to jointly set up hydrocarbon projects and build nuclear power generation units in the South Asian nation in an effort to improve economic and political ties. ``I expressed my hope that the ongoing discussions between our oil and gas companies would result in finalization of joint projects in India, Russia and third countries,'' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters in New Delhi today. He spoke at a joint briefing held with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.

Is solar power facing a boom or a bust? (International Herald Tribune, Feb 12)
Prospects for the solar power sector are puzzling investors juggling on the one hand a possible dot-com-style bust and on the other fresh support in Europe, home to one-third of the world's market. The solar power industry uses the same raw material as the semiconductor industry, silicon, and may share a similar boom-bust path, according to some analysts. The semiconductor industry collapsed in 2000 amid a dot-com bust that pulled demand for electronic chips.

Developing World, leader in production (Al-Arab, Feb 12)
The majority of computer chips, telephone handsets, laptops, TV screens, DVD players and other electronics and telecommunications products are now manufactured in developing countries, a new UNCTAD report reveals, and developing nations“ share in exports of services related to information and communication technology (ICT) is also growing. However, this is primarily due to strong growth in the developing world“s two largest economies, China and India.

India bet becomes a sure thing (Market Watch, Feb 12)
When Vodafone Group forked out $13 billion for a majority stake in India's No. 4 mobile operator, Hutchison Essar, a year ago, many feared the British giant had overpaid for an investment that would take years to yield a return. The explosion of the Indian market since then has proven them wrong.

E-Commerce in India, China Grows By More Than 50% in 2007 (IDEX, Feb 6)
China's online retail sales grew to $3.8 billion in 2007 from $2.4 billion in 2006. In India, B2C grew by 50 percent to $1.2 billion. These two countries, considered the bright future of the diamond jewelry industry, were among the fastest growing e-commerce markets globally.

China telecom industry faces huge bill after snow: state media (Hemscott, Feb 10)
China's telecom industry faces a huge bill after the worst winter in decades, with millions of users cut off and thousands of kilometers of phone lines damaged, state media said yesterday. Preliminary statistics from the Ministry of Information Industry showed the massive snow falls and freezing temperatures have led to losses of 1.1 bln yuan, the Xinhua news agency reported. 

Indian ICT market to reach US$24.3bn by 2011: Gartner (India Infoline, Feb 6)
Indian CIOs report stronger than average IT budget increases at 13% versus the world average of 3.3% for 2008. At a curtain raiser to the Gartner India CIO Summit 2008, Gartner Inc. on Wednesday announced that India's ICT market is estimated to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.3% to reach US$24.3bn, or nearly 2% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), by 2011. 

China struggles to avoid past mistakes in controlling food prices (AFP, Feb 11)
Rocketing food prices in China have sown deep concern among the communist leadership, ever wary of social unrest, as they fumble to control inflation without repeating past mistakes, analysts say. Overall inflation in China is running at a 10-year high -- around 6.9 percent in November year-on-year, official statistics show. Inflation is now being driven almost exclusively by increases in the price of food, in particular the staple meat, pork, which has spiked 60 percent year-on-year.

Would biofuels boom compromise food security? (The New Nation, Feb 11)
China will not suffer food scarcity or fluctuations in the price of agricultural products, despite its plans to produce biofuels from crops, according to a Chinese expert in energy research. "The Chinese government gives top priority to food security," said Zhou Fengqi, former director-general of the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Committee, China's top economic policy-making agency.

India welcomes new world trade texts, but sees problems (Reuters, Feb 12)
New negotiating texts could enable regional powers to push forward global trade talks in the coming weeks but a lot of hard work still lies ahead, Indian Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday. Last week, World Trade Organisation (WTO) mediators sought to advance long-running trade talks by issuing revised drafts for agriculture and industry.

Govt approves India-S Africa MoU for agricultural cooperation (The Times of India, Feb 7)
The government on Thursday approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Africa on agricultural cooperation. A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave its nod for the MoU which is expected to promote further bilateral cooperation through joint activities and exchanges in the areas of agriculture.

Universities Rush to Set Up Outposts Abroad (Herald Tribune, Feb 10)
When John Sexton, the president of New York University, first met Omar Saif Ghobash, an investor trying to entice him to open a branch campus in the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Sexton was not sure what to make of the proposal - so he asked for a $50 million gift. "It's like earnest money: if you're a $50 million donor, I'll take you seriously," Mr. Sexton said. "It's a way to test their bona fides." In the end, the money materialized from the government of Abu Dhabi, one of the seven emirates.

India to help upgrade Sri Lanka education infrastructure (The Hindu, Feb 12)
India and Sri Lanka are to meet in Bangalore before June to chalk out an action plan to upgrade the technical and managerial education sector infrastructure in the island nation to meet a serious shortage of manpower and boost economic growth. This agreement was arrived at here on Monday at an interactive session between the Indian delegation led by Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh and his Sri Lanka counterpart, Sarath Amunugama. 

Education, agri sectors to get priority in Budget: FM (The Economic Times, Feb 10)
Education and agriculture sectors would get top priority in the coming Union Budget, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said. Education sector is being given importance as literacy alone could make India a super power, Chidambaram told a public meeting after distributing Congress membership cards to 2,000 people in his Lok Sabha constituency last night.

Now, US to get Hindi lessons (CNN-IBN, Feb 11)
It has come as a surprise for many but it is true. In a bid to breach the international frontiers for long to the extent of holding the annual Hindi conclave in New York last year, two US states have approached India to sent in teachers who could teach its students Hindi and Arabic.  

Manufacturing in China (Real Business, February 12)
Manufacturing costs in China may be lower than in Europe, but Premium Appliance Brands co-founder Guy Weaver warns rising shipping costs mean the margins are sometimes much tighter. His £20.6m-turnover company designs, develops and markets appliances, but they are made in the best manufacturing centre for each particular product.

Stable outlook seen for Indian oil & gas industry in 2008 - Fitch (Forbes, February 12)
Fitch Ratings said it maintains a stable outlook for both upstream (exploration and production) and downstream (refining and marketing) sectors in India for 2008. Factors supporting the outlook for public sector enterprises (PSEs) in these sectors are the industry's strategic importance to the government of India in terms of its socio-economic policies, and the continued dominance of the industry by PSEs, Fitch said.

India's industrial output grows by 7.6 percent: official data (AFP, February 12)
India's annual industrial output grew by 7.6 percent in December, far below last year's double-digit expansion, official data showed on Tuesday. The industrial production growth in Asia's third-largest economy was up from November's revised figure of 5.1 percent but sharply down from the 13.4 percent expansion logged in December 2006, the figures showed.

China to establish environment ministry this year (Chemistry World, February 12)
An environment ministry with new powers to enforce green legislation is to replace China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) later this year, Chemistry World has learned. Hong Yaxiong, deputy director at SEPA's department of policy, said that the move would help the government stop more of its environmental policies falling by the wayside because the central government has been unable to enforce them locally.

Goa: Environment ministry in the dock (MeriNews, February 6)
The GOA Foundation has demanded that the ministry of environment and forests, government of India, stop granting further environment clearances for iron ore mines in Goa. The issue of these clearances has become a major environmental scandal that needs to be thoroughly probed. The foundation is also demanding review of the 70-odd environment clearances granted by the ministry. The foundation had petitioned the Supreme Court in 2004 that 70 odd mines in Goa (in addition to several industries all over the country) were being operated without environment clearances required under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act 1986.

India, Pakistan to cooperate on environment protection (The Daily Times, February 9)
Pakistan and India agreed to increase cooperation for environment protection on Friday during a meeting between caretaker Environment, Local Governments and Rural Development Minister Syed Wajid Hussain Bokhari and Indian Minister of State for Environment and Forest Namo Narayan. A press release said both sides would follow decisions of the Technical Advisory Committee and share their experiences in lakes, rivers and vulture preservation to prevent degradation of environment in South Asia.

Corporate sector should develop code of conduct: President (The Hindu, February 12)
Noting that issues of corporate governance and responsibility have taken centrestage as the industry grows, President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday asked companies to develop a self-imposed code of conduct. "A set of principles voluntarily agreed to by the business world and corporate houses in India could be developed into a self-imposed code of conduct," Patil said addressing a function to present the fourth Lakshmipat Singhania-IIM, Lucknow National Leadership Awards here.

Reforming capitalism to serve all (The Economic Times, February 12)
Not too long ago, The Economist declared 'corporate social responsibility' to be a dangerous fad. It reminded readers of the dictum of Milton Friedman that the business of business must be only business. However, the journal seems to have changed its mind. In a special supplement in January this year, it admits that corporations may have responsibilities to society beyond providing products and services to their customers and returns to their investors.

Godfrey Phillips lends a helping hand (The Business Standard, February 12)
Godfrey Phillips India (GPI), in joint venture with US-based tobacco firm Philip Morris International, has committed to spend 10 per cent of its annual profit to carry out corporate social responsibility activities. It plans to expand its Bravery Awards platform to provide employment opportunities to women and mobilise blood donation in the country.

Companies urged to be ready for global innovator economy (The Hindu, February 12)
"I've had a history of being told I'm crazy," says James Canton. But for a "crazy" man, he has done pretty well for himself. Dr. Canton is a futurist. He foresees Cyber Humans in 2015, droids - yes, as in 'Star Wars' droids - in 2020 and space colonisation and nano-economies by 2025. This might seem the stuff of science fiction, except that when Dr. Canton speaks, companies, even governments, sit up and listen. He is the chairman of the Institute for Global Futures in San Francisco, and is also a business advisor to a range of Fortune 1000 companies in the United States, including Motorola, FedEx and General Electric. He has advised the U.S. and Singapore Governments on economic policy.

China authorizes 30% more patents in 2007 (China View, February 11)
China authorized 30 percent more patents in 2007 as compared with 2006, according to the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) here on Monday. In 2007, China authorized 351,782 patents, up 31.3 percent over the previous year, SIPO statistics showed. Patent applications for new invention and new technology reached 67,948 and 150,036, respectively, SIPO statistics revealed.

Guest Column: Innovation is the way to go (The Hindustan Times, February 12)
India's IT industry was built on the work ethic of the first few software engineers, which is very different from today, when somebody may be joining for a whole host of reasons including good reference for marriage, large dowry or because it is just another job. That is the unfortunate part of the industry. Hopefully, they will come to love it and create the same kind of work ethic that made the country very proud.

A toast to 'Indi-innovators' (The Hindu Business Line, February 11)
Nasscom's Leadership Summit this week honours India's top innovators. Other industry groups are also helping to kickstart 'desi' ideas that fuel global applications. Anand Parthasarathy examines who is doing IT - and how.

'India fast emerging as prominent hub for innovation R&D' (The Economic Times, February 10)
With a rapidly developing scientific and technology base, India is fast emerging as a prominent hub of innovation R&D for global as well as local Indian manufacturing companies, speakers said at the Innovation Technologies for Manufacturing (ITM) 2008 Expo, here.

Battle Against Counterfeit Drugs Has New Weapon: Pollen (The New York Times, February 12)
After Guilin Pharmaceutical in Guangxi Province, China, began getting complaints about its antimalarial medicine, artesunate, the company decided in 2006 to test some field samples. They turned out to be fake. "They contained starch," Ni Shizheng, vice president of Guilin Pharmaceutical, said in a recent interview. "Our company didn't have the means to deal with the problem."

Corporate India wakes up to health risks (The Economic Times, February 12)
Seven years ago, Infosys was one of the first Indian companies to start implementing a preventive health care programme, after an employee aged 27 died from a heart attack. That was an extreme case, but health hazards among employees have been bothering Indian firms for long.

Male nurses scarce in China, despite many looking for work (China View, February 12)
There is something strange regarding the emerging occupation of male nurses in China. Advertisements claim they are in demand, yet many well-trained male nurses are looking for employment; some are trying to change their job, according to media reports. In big cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, in fast-developing areas, as well as in less-developed provinces, male nurses are scarce. It's exceedingly difficult for hospitals to recruit them.

Satyam makes tele-medicine available in remote villages (The Economic Times, February 10)
Satyam Computer Services has launched a project that provides tele-electrocardiogram (ECG) services to patients in remote areas across the country. The city-based IT major's global health care practice unit has implemented the programme in association with non-profit organisation Byrraju Foundation.

India Wants Better Public Transport to Cut Emission Levels (Bloomberg News, February 8)
ndia is working on a policy that will encourage the biggest cities and towns to build up their public transport systems as an alternative to cars to curb emissions in the nation's polluted urban areas. "We clearly want to move into a much stronger system of public transport in order to avoid excessive dependence on individualized forms of transport, which are both energy using and emission generating,'' Montek Singh Ahluwalia, one of the government's top advisers, said in New Delhi today.

China braces for traffic peak amid weather woes (The Hindu, February 11)
Amid warnings of another round of bad weather, millions of Chinese were heading back to work after a week-long Lunar New Year holiday as authorities braced for the traffic peak. The peak of railway traffic was expected on February 12, the last day of the Chinese Lunar New Year break, the Ministry of Railway said, as it geared up to meet the challenge.

Publisher: L. Roxanne Russell
Editor of Academic Resources: Dr. S.V. Char
Co-Editor: Abhijit Agrawal
Co-Editor: RJ Paulsick