Kochi, also known as theQueen of Arabian Sea, one ofthe principal seaports of India

will be the drop anchor spot of thereconstructed 9th century ship, "TheJewel of Muscat", which is retracinga historic Voyage from Muscat toSingapore.

The ship that set sail from Muscatin February is expected to arrive inKochi on March 11 to a rousing wel-come from Indian and Omanese dig-nitaries, including Chief Minister ofKerala V S Atchutanandan, Ministerof State for External Affairs ShashiTharoor, Ambassador of Oman inIndia H.E. Sheikh Humaid Bin AliBin Sultan Al-Maani and seniorMinisters from Oman and Singapore.

She will be berthed at Kochi fromMarch 11 for a month before it setsails to Singapore, via Galle in SriLanka and Penang Island andMalacca in Malaysia. She is expect-ed to reach Singapore in Mid July.

"The Jewel of Muscat' is an ambi-tious, adventurous and an initiative-oriented project undertaken by Omanto revive its rich maritime heritage,"the Oman Ambassador told AABCEditor-in-Chief Renu Malhotra inNew Delhi. A cultural extravaganzaby the troupes from Oman, India ,Yemen and Singapore has also beenscheduled from March 17-21, tomark the arrival of the ship in Kochi,he said.

The Jewel of Muscat, hand-sewnon Qantab beach in Muscat withnearly 70,000 stitches and over 100kms of hand-laid rope, comes as agift from the Sultanate of Oman tothe people of Singapore, where thecrew and the project team will bid anemotional farewell, and where theship will begin a proud new era in itsnew home, in a museum especiallybuilt for her, along with the Belitungtreasure.

The Jewel of Muscat takes itsblueprint from the Belitung wreck,which was carrying more than60,000 pieces of Chinese ceramics,silver and gold artifacts, spices andother commodities, now known asthe Tang Treasure. The main andmizzen masts of the handcraftedbeauty extend 13.5 m above the deckand the said area totals approximate-ly 160 sq.m. She is 18m long anddisplaces 55 tonnes. She has noengine and the crew is navigating tra-ditionally, using a kamal (an ancientnavigational tool), the sun and thestars. Modern navigation equipmentis also being used for safety and toscientifically ascertain the effective-ness of ancient methods.

The importance of the relation-ship between modern Oman and itsancient seafaring traditions is of para-mount importance as the Sultanatelooks to diversify its global percep-tion and continues to develop as amodern country.

If you miss the Jewel of Muscatin Kochi, you will have to travel toSingapore to admire her!

Retracing a historic voyage

JEWEL OF MUSCAT

Assuring full support andassistance to India in itspursuit of strengtheningand developing strongtrade relations with

ASEAN countries, Vietnam hascalled for scaling up the bilateraltrade between India and Vietnam toUS$10 billion by the end of 2010-11.

“India and Vietnam have devel-oped friendly and cooperative rela-tionship based on centuries' old his-torical, cultural and religious links butour trade ties remain modest... Ourtwo countries should work together toincrease the volume of the bilat-eral trade to $10 billion by2010,” Nguyen Phu Trong,President of the NationalAssembly of Socialist Republicof Vietnam said during hisrecent visit to India.

Mr Trong's statementassumes great significance asVietnam is all set to assume thechairmanship of ASEAN thisyear. Addressing the “Vietnam -India Business Forum: Towardsa Strategic Partnership”, jointlyorganised by Confederation ofIndian Industry and VietnamChamber of Commerce andIndustry in New Delhi in the lastweek of February, Mr Trongasked Indian businessmen toavail the advantage of youngVietnamese labour force, hugemarket and a gateway to thelarger ASEAN market andinvest in Vietnam in sectors likeIT, human resources develop-ment, management, education,science and technology, manufactur-ing, pharmaceuticals, ICT, energy,biotechnology, nanotechnology etc.

Speaking to a packed house, MrNguyen appreciated India's “LookEast” policy. He said that 'fundamen-tals' of Vietnamese economy werevery strong and it has been develop-ing at a fairly reasonable rate in recentyears and like India, it was able towithstand the present global econom-ic crisis.

Speaking to AABC on the side-lines of the forum, President ofVietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry Vu Tien Loc saw Indianinvestment potential in knowledgesectors like Science and Technology,

biotechnology andnanotechnology inVietnam.

“Presently thebilateral tradebetween Indiaand Vietnam wasfar below theactual potential.There is needfor a structuredmechanism topromote two-way tradebased on close

coordination between VCCIand CII,” he said.

“While we are interestedin Indian investment andsupport in InformationTechnology, bio-technology,nanotechnology, the ICT inVietnam,we would like toexport electronic goods, tex-tile, rubber, etc to India,” MrLoc said.

“Vietnam will not only act asa gateway for Indian trade inASEAN countries, but also tothe Vietnam-China market,” headded.

S SatyanarayananAABC Business Bureau

volume 1,Issue 03

USD 2/INR 90March 01-15, 2010

Challenges ofEmerging Economies

>>> edit

Expanding theIndustrial horizon>>> india

Asia Africa Tiesovercoming challenges

>>> asia

in brief

PIB

BILLION

India andVietnam have

developed friendlyand cooperative

relationship basedon centuries' old

historical, culturaland religious linksbut our trade tiesremain modest...

Our two countriesshould work togeth-

er to increase thevolume of the bilat-

eral trade to $10billion by 2010,

Nguyen Phu Trong,President of the

National Assembly ofSocialist Republic of

Vietnam

INDIA-VIETNAM SETTRADE TARGET OF

The Rubber HuntChina is in discussions with Cambodia toacquire a 60,000 hectare (148,300 acre) land concession to grow rubber and help meet rising domestic demand. China's ambassador toCambodia had expressed interest inCambodian rubber plantations that could pro-duce as much as 60,000 tonnes for export, saidLy Phalla, director general of Cambodia's

General Department of Rubber. “The demand for rubber is high inChina, especially in the production of tyres,” Ly Phalla told Reuters.Cambodia exported 42,000 tonnes of rubber in 2008, up from 40,000tonnes in 2007.

02 india news March 01-15

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

Editor-in-Chief Renu Malhotra

Associate Editor S. Satyanarayanan

Sub Editor Khushboo Gupta

Advisory Board

Ajit SinghMember of Parliament

Lalit Surjan Secretary General, Afro Asian SolidarityCouncil, Cairo, Egypt

Rahmat MohamadSecretary General, Asian African LegalConsultative Organisation

H.E Shekhar Dutt Hon’ble Governor of Chhasttisgarh &Former Defence Secretary, GoI

Sirajuddin Qureshi Chairman, Hind Group

Pradip BurmanExecutive Director, Dabur India Ltd.

Niraj SharanChairman & CEO, AURA Inc, USA

SM Khan ADG & Director,Directorate of Film Festivals, GoI

Mohit BurmanDirector, Dabur India Ltd

Ninu KhannaCEO, Reliance Wellness, Mumbai

MJ SaxenaCEO, Ayurvet Ltd.

Harish NarulaPresident Corporate, Lupin Ltd.

Editorial Board Sudesh VermaAsad Mirza Jacqueline Garewal Gurinder S. Rance

Layout & DesignManoj Sinha Maayank Bhatnagar

Marketing Associates Bahnu Agnihotri, Partner, Pro Media

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Owned, Published & Printed byRenu Malhotra. Edited and Published from B-302,Rosewood Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Phase1Extension New Delhi- 110091 (INDIA)All rights reserved. Reproduction in part orwhole without permission is strictly prohibited. While every effort is made toensure accuracy, we cannot take responsi-bility for losses resulting from publishingerrors, however caused. The publisheraccepts no liability or responsibility for theuse of any information given or productsadvertised in the newspaper.

At a time when the economy had just begun to recoverfrom the impact of an unprecedented global economiccrisis, the presentation of the Indian Budget for 2010-11 was a much-awaited event. Indian Finance

Minister Pranab Mukherjee's challengewas to support the resurgence of growthin the economy, create appropriate condi-tions to scale up growth to 9% plus levelsthat India had experienced between 2005-2008 and make the growth more inclu-sive. Even greater challenge before himwas to achieve this goal without compro-mising on fiscal prudence and at the same

time address the challenge of keepinginflation under control. Under the circum-

stances, the Indian Finance Minister appears to have respondedwell by striking a fine balance between various imperatives.

Though the government's commitment to continuing econom-ic reform is clearly visible in this Budget, Mukherjee appears tohave consciously left out the politically sensitive issues of FDIin retail, enhancing FDI limit in insurance, etc.

Some of the notable reform features include announcement ofa firm date for implementing the Direct Tax Code, intention tointroduce GST (Goods and Service Tax) in the same time frame,the Rs. 25,000 crore disinvestment target for this year, increasedallocations for agriculture, defence, infrastructure with emphasison roads, power and solar energy, education, skill developmentetc. The other positives include rationalization of personalincome tax slabs, the added impetus for savings and theincreased incentive for research and development activities.

The move to allow private players and NBFCs to apply for abanking license is another good and welcome step in the direc-tion of financial inclusion.

The increase in excise duty from 8% to 10% is in line withphased withdrawal of the stimulus. Therefore, his move on theexcise front has not come as a surprise. The decision to leave therates of customs duty and service tax unchanged is welcome par-ticularly in view of the anticipated introduction of GST nextyear. Reduction of surcharge would result in a lower rate of cor-porate tax but this would to an extent be offset by the unexpect-ed 3% increase in MAT.

The major disappointment for the masses is the significantincrease in price of petroleum products, which would definitelylead to higher inflation. Though the Finance Minister hasdefended his decision on the hike in petroleum products to thereasonably low and stable international crude price, he will haveto face a lot of flake within and outside Parliament before he isable to really push it through. Only time will tell whetherMukherjee would succumb to the pressures within and outsidethe ruling UPA coalition to roll back the hike partially, if notfully.

Taking all the positives and negatives into account, theBudget appears to be a well balanced one. A road map to pro-gressively bring down the fiscal deficit from 6.9% this year to4.1% by 2012-13 clearly indicates the government's commit-ment to fiscal discipline. Though the Finance Minister in hisBudget has not stated his intent to achieve the FinanceCommission's recommendation for a zero fiscal deficit by 2014-15, it is quite clear from his pronouncements that the governmentis moving in that direction.

INDIA BUDGET 2010-11

National Missionfor Delivery of

Justice and LegalReforms

With the objective to reduce legal backlog from anaverage 15 years at present to three years by 2012and provide timely justice to all, the IndianGovernment has approved to set up the NationalMission for Delivery of Justice and Legal Reforms.The Finance Minister said that it would also helpimproving the legal environment for business.

Additional Banking licenses

The Reserve Bank of India is considering givingsome additional banking licenses to private sectorplayers. Non Banking Financial Companies couldalso be considered, if they meet the RBI's eligibilitycriteria, the Finance Minister announced.

Transparency and PublicAccountability

Indian Finance Minister in his Budget speechannounced that the government proposed

to set up a Financial Sector ReformsCommission to re-write and clean up

the financial sector laws. This wouldbring the laws in line with the

requirements of the sectordoing away with the ambi-

guity and complexitycrept in these old leg-islations with amend-ments and changes madein them over the years.

TechnologyAdvisory Group

Indian Government has proposed toset up a Technology Advisory Group forUnique Projects like Tax Information Network,New Pension Scheme, National TreasuryManagement Agency, Expenditure InformationNetwork, Goods and Service Tax which are in dif-ferent stages of roll out. Finance Minister said thatthe proposed Technology Advisory Group will over-see the creation of these reliable, secure and effi-cient IT projects needed for effective tax adminis-tration and financial governance.

IndianRupee to get a

symbolThe proposed symbol will appropriatelyreflect and capture the Indian ethos and

culture. With this, Indian Ruppee will jointhe select club of currencies such as theUS Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Euroand Japanese Yen that have a clear dis-tinguishing identity.

Five more MegaFood Parks

ProposedIn addition to the 10

mega food park projects already being set up,the government has decided to setup five more such parks.

S Satyanarayanan

Improving InvestmentEnvironment

Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee inhis Budget speech said that a number ofsteps have been taken to simplify the ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) regime. He said thegovernment also intends to make the FDI poli-cy user-friendly by consolidating all prior regu-lations and guidelines into one comprehensivedocument. This would enhance clarity andpredictability of India's FDI policy to foreigninvestors, he said.With a view to strengthen and institutionalizethe mechanism for maintaining financial stabil-ity, India has decided to set up an apex-levelFinancial Stability and Development Council.It would monitor macro prudential supervisionof the economy, including the functioning oflarge financial conglomerates.Towards strengthening the banking system,the Budge provides Rs 16500 crore as Tier-Icapital, which would ensure that the PublicSector Banks are able to attain a minimum8% Tier-I capital by March 2011. Further capi-

tal would also beinfused into theRegional RuralBanks (RRBs).

HIGHLIGHTSMukherjee does a balancing act

03india news

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

March 01-15

RO No: 629/Sou/Advt.I/2009-10

Converting Indo-Myanmar bordertrade into normal trade, openingof a border trade point at

Avangkhung in Nagaland and expand-ing the existing border trade items from22 to 40 items will be top on the agen-da at the fourth Joint Trade Committeemeeting to be convened soon inNew Delhi. A decision to thiseffect was taken at the just-con-cluded 11th Foreign OfficeConsultations between the twocountries in Nay Pyi Taw.. TheIndian side was led by ForeignSecretary Nirupama Rao and theMyanmar side by Deputy ForeignMinister U Maung Myint.

Both sides appreciated thestrengthening of cooperation, par-ticularly in the power sector, a MEAstatement said.

India is assisting Myanmar in theupdating of the DPR (detailed projectreport) on the development of Tamanthiand Shwezaye Hydropower Projects onthe Chindwin River by NHPC. The twosides welcomed the taking up of mini-

hydel projects by WAPCOS, replacingof 16 cyclone-damaged transformers byBHEL, supply of biomass gasifiers byTERI (Tata Energy Research Institute)and construction of new transmissionlines by PGCIL (Power GridCorporation of India Limited).

The Myanmar side welcomed the

additional investment of US$ 1.1 bil-lion by ONGC (Oil and Natural GasCorporation) and GAIL in oil blocks inMyanmar for gas field developmentand upstream projects. Both sidesagreed to strengthen cooperation in thisfield.

The two sides expressed happiness

at the progress of work at the IndustrialTraining Centre, Pakokku, being set upwith Indian assistance. TATA Motorsare also assisting Myanmar in settingup a heavy turbo truck plant atMagway.

The discussions covered a widerange of bilateral issues including secu-

rity and border issues, tradeand economic cooperationand cooperation in cross-bor-der developmental pro-jects, Oil and Natural Gas, Power, Railways,Telecommunications andEducation & Training. Thetwo sides stressed the need forgreater vigilance at the borderand agreed to enhance securi-

ty cooperation to combat insurgentgroups and arms smuggling.

The Myanmar side also conveyed itssupport to India's candidature for thenon-permanent membership of the UNSecurity Council for the term 2011-12.

AABC Business Bureau

Andhra Pradesh government isall set to launch a 'sop-filled'New Industrial Policy toattract huge investments in the

industrially-backward districts in thesouthern Indian state.

The government would categorise thedistricts on the basis of industrialdevelopment and then offer attractiveincentives and concessions toinvestors and industrialists who set upnew industrial units in these back-ward districts, the Andhra PradeshChief Minister K Rosaiah said in theState capital Hyderabad.

Rosaiah said the government wascontemplating a special textile policyto tap the potentially huge cotton cropin the State by promoting more spin-ning and weaving mills.

He asserted that despite recent dis-turbances due to agitation by pro-Telengana activists, Andhra Pradeshcontinued to be well ahead in indus-trialisation and economic develop-ment.

The Hyderabad InternationalAirport being ranked as world's bestairport in its category, ISB among thetop 12 business schools, World Bankrating for Hyderabad, RBI reportranking the State as the second bestinvestment destination and the pro-posed new rail lines would help inattracting investments, he said.

“'We are first among the best inmany sectors. We have the best infra-structure facilities, most attractive indus-trial policy, lowest power tariff, abun-dant natural resources and vast skilledand unskilled human resources. The eco-nomic position of the State is sound.Hence don't miss the bus,'' he told someof the industrialists who called on him athis residence recently.

The Chief Minister asked Major Industries Minister KannaLaxminarayana to study the proposedpolicy in detail before announcement.Recalling State Governor ESLNarasimhan's recent comments in NewDelhi on safety of industries in the State,

the Chief Minister said this was the time ''Brand Hyderabad'' was sold globally.

He said a task force under a seniorIPS (Indian Police Service) officer of IG(Inspector General) rank had been creat-ed to safeguard the interests of industriesin general and IT companies inparticular.

The Chief Minister said the number

of Special Economic Zones and thedevelopment of Petroleum, Chemicaland Petrochemical Investment Region(PCPIR) in the long coastal corridor ofthe State (Visakhapatnam-Kakinada)spanning 603.58 sq km will give a greatthrust not only to industrialisation butalso to the overall development of theState in the days to come.

The Visakhapatnam-KakinadaPetroleum, Chemical and PetrochemicalInvestment Region Special

Development Authority has been con-stituted for planned growth ofthe area by making a masterplan for providing requiredinfrastructure and necessarycivic amenities.

Rosaiah said Andhra Pradeshwas already on the fast track ofdevelopment and nothing can stopit from attaining the Number Onerank in industrialisation and eco-

nomic progress in the near future.He recalled that a report by the

Reserve Bank of India rankedAndhra Pradesh second in the coun-try with total investment intentionstotalling INR 25,173 crore and proj-ects numbering 105. Rosaiah said the State had the

maximum number of Institutes ofExcellence.

While several new railway lines in theState have been proposed in the UnionRailway Budget 2010-11, many newPorts were already being built under PPPmodel all along Andhra coast.

He said the State had successfullyattracted a number of 'Institutes ofExcellence' including Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT) and Birla Institute ofTechnology and Science (BITS, Pilani).

uni

04 india news

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

March 01-15

in brief EXPANDING THE INDUSTRIAL HORIZON

India, Myanmar JTC meet

ANDHRA TO UNVEIL NEW INDUSTRIAL POLICY

3G auction onApril 9: GovtThe auctioning of third generation (3G)spectrum will begin on April 9 and the lastdate for submitting bids is March 19. TheIndian government has already issuedthe notice inviting applications (NIA). Anauction for broadband wireless access(BWA) services will begin two days afterthe completion of 3G auctions, a state-ment from Ministry of Communications &Information Technology said. The pre-qualification of bidders for 3G spectrumhas been scheduled for March 30 andmock auctions will take place on April 5and 6, it said.The auction of the 3G spectrum, whichwill help telecom services providers offerhigh-speed voice and data services, hasbeen delayed for a long time due toissues relating to freeing up of spectrum,number of slots to be sold and fixing bidprices.

AABC Business Bureau

ATC to acquiretower of ESSAR America's biggest independent towerfirm American Tower Corp (ATC) hasagreed to acquire 4,450 towers of EssarTelecom Infrastructure (ETIPL) its thirdmajor acquisition in India in less than ayear. The purchase estimates an enter-prise value of Rs 2,000 crore for ETIPL.ATC has executed the transactionthrough Transcend Infrastructure, itsindirect, wholly-owned Indian subsidiary.Among other clearances, the transactionrequires nod from the ForeignInvestment Promotion Board (FIPB). Earlier, in February 2009 ATCannounced acquisition of Xcel Telecom's1,700 towers followed by TranscendInfrastructure in October same year.ATC has more than 2,000 towers inIndia now.

AABC Business Bureau

Israeli firm to assistin groundwatermanagement The North Indian State of Punjab wouldsoon prepare a master plan to developwater resources and irrigation manage-ment for agriculture in the state with theassistance of an Israeli firm TAHALConsulting Engineers Ltd to overcomethe alarming situation of declining waterresources under severe drought-likecondition as well as excessive use ofgroundwater for crops like paddy.A decision to this effect has been takenby Punjab Chief Minister Parkash SinghBadal after going through a detailedpresentation made by Moshe Gablinger,a water resources development expertof TAHAL along with its ManagingDirector, Asia Operation Avi Flor.

AABC Business Bureau

“'We are firstamong the bestin many sectors.We have the best

infrastructurefacilities, most

attractive indus-trial policy, low-est power tariff,abundant natural

resources andvast skilled andunskilled humanresources. Theeconomic posi-tion of the Stateis sound. Hencedon't miss the

bus,'Dr. K Rosaiah

India is assisting Myanmar in theupdating of the DPR (detailed project

report) on the development ofTamanthi and Shwezaye

Hydropower Projects on theChindwin River by NHPC.

MTN - PARTNER TURNSCOMPETITOR

Bharti Airtel (Bharti), postacquisition of Zain Africa(Zain), would compete with

MTN/Vodafone, its largest rival ineight of the 15 sub-SaharanAfrican geographies that it intendsto acquire.

For 9MCY09, these eight geog-raphies contributed 79%, 74%,and 68% of Zain's subscriber base,revenues, and EBITDA respec-tively.MTN - one of Bharti'spotential partner formerly - wouldnow be one of its largest competi-tors in the fray for five of Zain's 15markets in Africa. At present, ZainAfrica derives 54% of its revenuesand 52% of its EBITDA fromthese five geographies.

Additionally, Bharti would becompeting with Vodacom, aVodafone-controlled entity, inTanzania, and the DemocraticRepublic of Congo and Safaricom inKenya.

Chairman and Managing Director ofBharti Sunil Bharti Mittal, whoannounced the acquisition of Zain'sAfrican assets for $10.7 billion, hassaid that he was extremely excitedabout the Zain opportunity and Africa

has great potential on accountof large population base.

Post acquisition Bhartiwould be among top five oper-ators globally. The Companyis weighing various onshoreand offshore options for rais-ing the equity for the acquisi-tion.

During its tie-up talks lastyear with South Africa's MTNthat were aborted, Bharti hadapproached State Bank of Indiafor dollar and rupee loanstotalling about $2 billion.

Analysts say that though dealdoes not appear highly expen-sive and earnings dilutive forBharti, even if the entire dealwere to be funded through debt,a turnaround in Zain's deterio-rating operating and financial

metrics remains pertinent. They strongly feel that though Zain's

acquisition would be a strategic fit forBharti in Africa's high growth market,Bharti's move seems to be a desperateattempt to avert a decline in its growthtrajectory as the domestic market (India)gets increasingly competitive.

AABC Business Bureau

To achieve exponential growth inagro sector, Sudan has urged Indiato help in investment, infusion of

capital investment technology and sharingits rich experience in farm cooperatives.

The North-Eastern African nation,which has abundant natural resources, isalso looking at huge investments in agroindustrial sector from Indian public andprivate enterprises.

“India has rich experience in farmcooperatives which can help us to developour agricultural sector in a big way… Weare looking for at least US$1 billioninvestment in the agri sector from India,”Agriculture Minister of Sudan DrAbdelhalim I. Almutafie said in a recentinterview to Afro Asian BusinessChronicle.

“India is a leading country in sugar,milk, rice, food processing and agri busi-ness, while Sudan is abundant in fertileland, water and human resource. Sudanlacks technology and the capital which iswhere we see synergy between the twocountries as India, rich in technicalknowhow, can encourage technologytransfer and investments,” the Ministersaid.

In this context, he recalled the assur-ances he got from Indian Governmentduring his recent visit to India and alsospelt out the incentives rolled out bySudan to attract foreign investment.

“There's lot to be learnt from Indianexperience - the continuous governmentpolicy, easy financial assistance andextensive support services. India is feed-ing a population of more than 1 billion,which in itself is a very enlightening les-son for Sudan. My visit to India was quitefruitful and encouraging,” Dr Almutafie

said.“We want more and more investment

from India and China and have made sev-eral provisions to make Sudan an investorfriendly country,” he said.

Sudan exports mainly oil to India andimports machinery, infrastructure, tex-tiles, agricultural products.

From livestock rearing, the country islooking to move into farming in a majorway as there is an urgent need to feed therising population and provide food securi-ty to its people. Agriculture is the leadingeconomic sector in Sudan, contributing48% of the GDP, giving employment to65% of the population. The agriculturalsector is the source of raw material to theprocessing factories in the country includ-ing textiles, sugar, vegetable oil, soapfactories, grain mills, milk factories,tanneries, saw mills. etc whichcontribute 17% of GDP and some20% of foreign earnings.

Sudan comes first amongdeveloping countries that haveimplemented programmes torestructure the economy to privatize the public sectorand to liberalize production, trade andexport policies.Sudan is an activemember of theAfrican CommonMarket of Eastand South Africa( C O M M E S A ) , the Arab CommonMarket and theGreater Arab Free-Trade Region.

Renu Malhotra

Kenya hopes for 4.5% GDPGrowth in 2010A recovery in tourism and other key sec-tors in Kenya led to economic growth of2.5% last year and the government fore-casts growth of 4.5% in 2010, PresidentMwai Kibaki has said.The effects of post-election violence, a drought and the glob-al economic crisis pushed Kenya's eco-nomic growth to 1.7 % in 2008, afterexpansion of 7.1% in the previous year.“Last year, the recovery in tourism, and insome other key sectors, mitigated effectsof the severe drought that caused food,water and energy shortages,” he said inKenyan parliament.“As a result, the economy grew at 2.5%.This year we are optimistic that the fore-casted 4.5% growth rate will beachieved.” The 2.5% figure is in line withthe government's forecast of 2-3%growth for 2009. Kibaki said a unitedcoalition government and a low interestrate environment were necessary foreconomic growth.“Our politics must promote political stability and public confidence in thefuture of our country. Secondly we musttake policy initiatives that will reduce andmaintain low interest rates,” he said.Parliament is reconvening amidsta deep division between the two maincoalition partners, Kibaki and PrimeMinister Raila Odinga, over the suspension of ministers whose ministrieshave been accused of graft. One of themajor tasks ahead of this parliamentarysession will be constitutional review.

Reuters

Mongolia plansglobal bond issue Mongolia plans to sell up to $1.2 billionvia a global bond sale in the fourth quar-ter this year to fund major developmentprojects in areas such as mining andinfrastructure, a finance ministry officialsaid.''We will begin road shows in the middleof the year. First we will talk to investorsand see how much demand there is inthe market,'' the official told Reuters bytelephone.He said a shortlist of banks had beenprepared for the proposed issue andthose picked included HSBC, DeutscheBank and ING.The terms of the issue have yet to bedecided and the government is in theprocess of identifying the projects whichwill be funded by this proposed debt.Standard & Poor's has rated MongoliaBB-minus or three notches below invest-ment grade. The outlook is stable.

Reuters

in brief05

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

africaMarch 01-15

Sudan woos Indian Agri Investors

Dr Abdelhalim I. Almutafie

I’m extremely excited about theZain opportunity and Africa has great

potential on account of largepopulation base.

CMD, Bharti Airtel

KG

Uganda and India leadingproducers of bananas inthe world have joinedhands to conduct

research into the textile potentialof the banana fibre, a partof the banana tree mostlyconsidered waste material.

The research pro-gramme, spearheaded bythe Ichalkaranji-basedIndian DKTE Textile andEngineering Institute andBusitema University ofUganda, will explore opportu-nities for value added textileproducts from banana fibreincluding curtains, windowblinds, table cloths, table

mats, bags, ropes and garments.The research follows a recent visit

to Busitema University by a delega-tion of professors from the DKTEInstitute.

The research project will set up apilot production facility for theextraction and processing of bananafibre into textiles, and build capacityof women banana farmers to addvalue to the fibres at household level.The banana crop occupies about 67%of all cropped land in Uganda, mostlygrown by women.

The leader of the Indian delega-tion, Prof. Chandrakant Kane,pledged his institute's support andadvised the university to consider similarwork on silk, sisal, wool and pineapplefibres.

The research is one of the aspects inthe memorandum of understanding

signed between Busitema University andDKTE Textile and Engineering Instituteduring the visit, professor PV Kadole,Vice Principal and head of textileDepartment at the institute told AABC

over phone.Other collaborative areas

agreed upon by the twoinstitutions includehuman and institu-tional capacity build-ing, curriculumdevelopment, studentand staff exchange,and knowledge trans-fer partnerships withprivate sector and localcommunities.

DKTE will send twoprofessors every semes-ter for a period of oneand a half months. Oneprofessor will be sentfor a full academic year

every year for the purposes ofteaching, training Busitema staff,research and interaction withindustry, he said.

DKTE will offer Busitemastaff with facilities and opportuni-ties for higher education byadmitting two staff members tomaster's degree courses in TextileTechnology and one or two fordoctoral studies,he said.

DKTE will also supportBusitema in establishing a mas-ter's programme in TextileTechnology and in setting up atextile component of the Scienceand Technology Park at Busitema.

The university plans to establish a centrefor garment making technology forwomen, he added.

S.SatyanarayananAABC Business Bureau

South African President Jacob Zumahas ordered an external audit of statecompanies, following persistentreports of mismanagement and polit-

ical meddling, and said he wants fasteraction to curb corruption.

In an interview with the SundayTimes newspaper, Zuma said he hadcommissioned a private company toreview the operations of all state-owned enterpris-es (SOEs) andprovide solutionsto their problems.

“I have taken adecision which isgoing to solveSOE problemsfor ever: I have ordered a review of

all of them with a final decision onwhat to do. It is being done by out-side people who have no interest,''the paper quoted Zuma as saying.

“It is being done on behalf ofthe country and we'll be advised

about what to do. It is clear there aredifficulties...

A review is going to come up withsomething that's going to solve the prob-lem for ever.'' Zuma pointed to state air-line South African Airways (SAA) and

power utility Eskom, which he said hadalways had problems.

A leadership crisis at Eskom last yearresulted in both the chief executive and the

board chairman leaving the firm after clash-ing over how to run the utility, which is strug-

gling to keep South Africa's lights on.Key roles at SAA and logistics group

Transnet have also been left unfilled as thecompanies struggle to resolve internal battles.

Analysts have said that political meddlingin efforts to resolve the companies' problemshas raised questions about South Africa's abil-ity to run state-owned firms, making investorshesitate to commit new funds and raising thecost of loans.

Both Transnet andEskom are struggling toraise the funds they needto pay for large expansionprogrammes to meet fast-rising demand, the moreso since the recession ledto tighter conditions on

credit markets.Zuma also said his government needed to

deal more urgently with corruption. ''My com-plaint is that problems of corruption take toolong to be finalised... We need a shorter way ofdealing with such issues,'' he said.

Commenting on the controversy over his20th child, which he admitted to fathering outof wedlock with Sonono Khoza, the daughterof his friend and 2010 FIFA World Cup organ-ising committee head Irvin Khoza, Zuma saidit had been ''necessary to admit and own up toit.” “I felt it was necessary to apologisebecause some people were feeling bad aboutit,” he said.

Zuma, a Zulu traditionalist who practisespolygamy and has three current wives, did notsay whether he would marry Khoza.

Reuters

Fellowship forAfricanResearchersIndian Government has launched theprestigious CV Raman Fellowships forthe African researchers for 2010. Underthe Fellowship Programme, governed bythe Indian Ministry of Science andTechnology and Earth Sciences, eachAfrican country will have 8 slots of fellow-ship totaling approximately 416 fellow-ships.

The fellowship provides opportunitiesfor African researchers to conductresearch/training ranging from 1 to 12months in three categories at universi-ties/ research institutes in India in thearea of natural/ engineering sciencesincluding mathematics and statistics:

"Post-Doctoral Fellowship" for 6-12months for young researchers havingPhD degree; Visiting Fellowship" of up to3 months for mid-career researchershaving PhD/M.Tech qualification or work-ing experience of 6-10 years; and "SeniorFellowships" for one month for senior sci-entist/ professors engaged in activeresearch work . In all, there will be morethan 416 fellowships for Africanresearcher for research/training in thefields of Natural Science & Engineering inIndian S&T institution/universities.

Federation of Indian Chambers OfCommerce & Industry (FICCI) is theCoordinating Partner for FellowshipProgramme. Applications of the candi-dates should be sent to FICCI throughdesignated nominating authority in theirrespective countries, with a copy to therespective Indian Mission. KG

Africa CarbonForum 2010The Africa Carbon Forum (ACF), aregional platform established to promoteknowledge and information sharingincluding business facilitation among themain carbon market players in the region,will hold its second meet in Nairobi,Kenya from March 3 to 5. It is an eventthat brings together representatives fromDesignated National Authorities (DNA),Climate Change National Focal Points,Government and the Private SectorThe ACF is an important implementationmechanism of the Nairobi Frameworkwhich was initiated in 2006 by the UnitedNations Development Programme(UNDP), United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP), World Bank Group,African Development Bank (AfDB), andthe Secretariat of the United NationsFramework Convention on ClimateChange (UNFCCC). The mandate of theNairobi Framework partners is to assistdeveloping countries, especially those inSub-Sahara Africa, to improve their levelof participation in the Clean DevelopmentMechanism (CDM).The African Development Bank, as oneof the strategic implementing partners,has been actively involved in the plan-ning and organisation of this forum and issupporting the participation of keyRegional Member Country (RMC) repre-sentatives. In addition to speaking at theopening ceremony and selected plenaryand workshop sessions, the Bank willhost a side event and an exhibition standto showcase its work on climate changemitigation and adaptation in Africa; with afocus on its clean energy projects and theCongo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF).

AABC Business Desk

TROUBLED STATE FIRMS South Africa Zuma orders review

March 01-1506 africa

in brief

I have taken a decision which is goingto solve SOE problems for ever: I have

ordered a review of all of them with a finaldecision on what to do. It is being done byoutside people who have no interest

BANANA FIBRE RESEARCH

Uganda partners with India

PIB

Asia-Africa Tiesovercoming common challenges

SAUDI ARABIA,INDIA INK Historic Riyadh DECLARATION

The year 1955 signalled thebeginning of an enduring rela-tionship between the people ofAfrican continent and their

Asian counterparts. The end of WorldWar II in August 1945 did not end all thehostilities in the world and create peaceand security. In some parts of the world,particularly in Asia and Africa, therewere a few issues still contentious whichled to fresh hostilities, almost warlike inKorean Peninsula, Indo-China, Palestine,South Africa and North Africa.

The problems are partly due to theemergence of two opposing big powerblocks with divergent sphere of ideologyand interests, namely the West Block ledby United States of America and theEastern Block led by the Soviet Unionand each block trying to woo the Asiancountries and Africa to their fold. Thishas resulted in constant bickering tensionand even atmosphere of shadow boxingbetween two blocks and its supporters.This is called the "Cold War".

Asia and Africa were under colonialrule of western world in various forms.And since 1945, many Asian and Africanregions became independent, but alsomany were still struggling for freedomsuch as Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco inNorth Africa, Vietnam in Indo-China,and at the southern peak of Africa. SomeAsian and African countries which gotindependence still face numerous prob-lems directly related to the legacy ofcolonialism as in Indonesia (WestPapua), India and Pakistan as manynatives were forced to flee from theirhomeland.

Meanwhile in many nations,

especially Asia and Africa there weregrowing concerns due to proliferation ofnuclear weapons that could prove lethalto mankind. Although several Asian andAfrican countries are independent, theirinternal situation is still volatile despiteUnited Nation's efforts to maintain peaceand tranquility. This gave birth to theidea to hold Asian-African Conference,where the idea of a Non-aligned move-ment was born in an attempt to thwart theCold War.

The founding fathers of the Non-aligned movement were: PanditJawaharlal Nehru of India, Sukarno ofIndonesia and Josip Broz Tito ofYugoslavia, Gamal Abdul Nasser of

Egypt and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.Their actions were known as 'TheInitiative of Five'. A significant milestonein the development of the Non-alignedmovement was the 1955 BandungConference, a conference of Asian andAfrican states hosted by Indonesian pres-ident Sukarno. The attending nationsdeclared their desire not to becomeinvolved in the Cold War and adopted a"declaration on promotion of worldpeace and cooperation"

Long after the cold war ended, thecountries of this region attempted torevive their movement to suit the modernsituation of the world by holding a newAsian-African Summit from 20-24 April2005 in Bandung and Jakarta.The conference concluded by establishing theNewAsian-African Strategic Partnership(NAASP), a vehicle for promoting co-operation among the coun-tries of Asia and Africa to promote peace,prosperity and progress.

The differences in cultural, social andeconomic development of Asian andAfrican countries should be consideredas strength rather than a weakness of this partnership.The countries of Asiaand Africa can now draw lessons fromeach others' experience in overcomingcommon political, social, economic anddevelopment challenges, in order todeliver the five basic human needs to thepeople of Asia and Africa, namely food,shelter, health, education and employment.

H.E. Lt. Gen (Ret.) Andi M. GhalibAmbassador of Indonesia to India

March 01-15 07

In a clear reflection of the growingstrategic partnership, Indian PremierManmohan Singh and SaudiArabian monarch King Abdullah

Bin Abdul Aziz signed the historicRiyadh Declaration at Grandoise AlRawdah Palace on March 1.

The visiting Indian premier alsoreviewed the status of implementation ofthe historic Delhi Declaration that wassigned in 2006 when King Abdullah BinAbdul Aziz visited the Indian capital.Both the leaders expressed their satisfac-tion at the steady expansion of Saudi-India relations since the signing of thedeclaration.

They re-emphasized the importance offull implementation of the DelhiDeclaration through exchange of visits atthe ministerial, official, business, acade-mia, media and other levels.

Keeping in view the development ofrelations between the two countries, andthe potential for their further growth, thetwo leaders decided to raise their cooper-ation to a strategic partnership coveringsecurity, economic, defence and politicalareas.

Both leaders further reiterated theirmutual desire to develop as knowledge-based economies based on advances inthe areas of information technology,space science and other frontier tech-nologies.

They also welcomed the agreementssigned between the two sides in the fieldof research and education, informationtechnology and services, science andtechnology, and peaceful uses of outerspace.

Both leaders emphasized the impor-tance of developing a broad-based eco-nomic partnership that reflects the ongo-ing transformation of their economies,

and the changes such transformation arebringing about in the global economicorder, including continuous coordinationwithin the framework of the G-20process.

The two leaders stressed on continu-ing to work towards strengthening theirstrategic partnership by meeting the twocountries' vast requirements relating toinfrastructure, energy and development,by augmenting the flow of their invest-ments into each other's countries, andenhancing the bilateral trade in accor-dance with the potential and size

of their economies.They underlined the importance of

strengthening the strategic energy part-nership based on complimentarily and

interdependence, as outlined in the DelhiDeclaration, including meeting India'sincreasing requirement of crude oil sup-plies, and identifying and implementingspecific projects for cooperation includ-ing in the areas of new and renewableenergy.

India invited Saudi Arabia to partici-pate in crude storage facilities in India,and directed the Joint Working Group onEnergy to continue adopting all appropri-ate means to achieve the same.

AABC Business Desk

Differences in cultural,social and economic developmentof Asian and African countriesshould be considered as strengthrather than a weakness

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

Las Vegas CasinoLas Vegas Sands Corp, the world's second-most valuable casino firm willopen the first phase of its Singaporecasino on April 27, earlier than expected.

The $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sandscasino will start operating along with 963hotel rooms, part of the shopping malland convention centre, and several dining outlets, Las Vegas Sands said ina statement.

The announcement follows on theheels of the opening of Singapore's firstcasino, rival Genting Singapore'sResorts World at Sentosa, on Feb 14the first day of the Lunar New Year anddeemed an auspicious date.

It also comes as casino operators inLas Vegas see share prices hurt byfalling room rates and worries aboutMGM Mirage's newly opened $8.5 billion, 6,000-room CityCenter project.

Las Vegas Sands, run by billionaireSheldon Aldeson, operates the Venetionand Palazzo resorts on the Las VegasStrip. It also owns two casinos in Macauand a casino in Pennsylvania.

The company announced in itsfourth-quarter earnings report that quar-terly losses had narrowed, though itsearnings disappointed investors hopingfor even better results from its Macauoperations. Reuters

Aabar deal Dubai's Arabtec has said that the duediligence date for its $1.7-billion mergerwith Aabar Investments had beenextended to April 16, in a move that willencourage investors that the deal willprogress.

''Because of the enormity of the taskat hand and the limited time frame, bothparties agreed to amend the subscription agreement and the termsheet to extend the due diligence date tomidnight April 16 2010,'' the United ArabEmirates' largest contractor by marketvalue said in a statement on the boursewebsite. Under the agreement, AbuDhabi's Aabar in January had agreed toacquire a 70% stake in Arabtec in adeal valued at about $1.7 billion.

Iraq EconomyIraq may have two more years of budgetshortfalls before stronger oil prices and pro-duction lift it back into surplus in 2012, the International MonetaryFund has said.In its regular review of Iraq'seconomy, the IMF said Iraq's economicgrowth in 2010 will probably be significantlystronger than it was last year, but the countrywill still need additional financing to plug a2010-2011 budget gap estimated at $5 bil-lion. Iraq is to hold parliamentary elections on March 7. Last week, the IMFapproved a $3.6 billion loan to help Iraq man-age its budget hole.

The IMF estimated growth in 2010 realgross domestic product at 7.3%, which wouldbe up sharply from an estimated 4.2 percent in 2009 but still off the2008 level of 9.5%, achieved when oilprices were at record highs.

in brief

H.E. Lt. Gen (Ret.) Andi M. Ghalib

asia

he year 2010 holds great significancefor Africa as it marks the 50th anniver-sary of Africa's independence. Thehard-won independence has made thepeople masters of their own destiny. It

presented the leadership withthe opportunity to build upthe nations following thecommon will. Thus, it is alsothe moment to look back andtake stock of the achieve-ments over the last fivedecades, not forgetting for amoment that the task of

reconstruction and the building of apeaceful, progressive and stable futurewas not a cake-walk for the nations thatwere robbed of precious naturalresources and human dignity by foreignpowers for almost two centuries.

While this retrospection is importanton their part for the nations celebratingtheir 50 years of independence, theworld community is also trying to com-prehend as to what political independ-ence has meant to them; and in whatway Africa has responded to the chal-lenges of abject poverty, backwardnessand many more dismal features thatwere inherited from the subjugated past.

The independence won fifty years agoby the African nations is primarily thesweet fruit of sacrifices made by thepeople in liberation movements. Buteven at that time it had a global contextas they received unwavering supportfrom the peace loving people from allover the world.

The situation today in most of theAfrican countries looks gloomy, as thecontinent suffers from many maladies.The many-faceted specter of poverty,hunger, illiteracy, disease, and sectarianwars looms large and it appears that thepolitical freedom and national sover-eignty has not lead to economic self-reliance and equal opportunity regime.The people have not been able to gaincontrol of the abundant naturalresources and harness them for the gen-eral welfare for all. They are rathercaught between the devil and the deepsea.

At the one hand there are colonialmasters in the new disguise and on theother is the failed body politic.Authoritarianism seems to be the orderof the day and democracy remains adistant dream. The international finan-cial institutions prescribe remedies that

are worse than the disease itself and theUS, through AFRICOM is spreading itstentacles. The claim about the annualgrowth rate of 5% achieved in 2009 isonly an illusion, as the fruits of thisprogress have not reached to the mass-es.

AAPSO ( Afro Asian SolidarityCouncil) takes cognizance of the factthat Africa, far from being the DarkContinent is the land of gold- both interms of human capital and physicalwealth. The people of Africa are braveand resilient and are waiting in thewings to play a role complementing totheir abilities and qualities on the worldstage. They are also the owners of abun-dant natural resources that used judi-ciously is bound to bring economicprosperity for all and ensure a safefuture for their children.

AAPSO played a significant role inraising the world opinion against colo-nial rule, gave full support to nationalliberation movements and alwaysopposed hegemonic foreign powers. Tothis end, it convened several interna-tional gatherings and never missed anopportunity to voice its concerns forAfrica on international form. Each ofits eight Congresses held so far, as wellas its constitutional bodies has firmlyreiterated AAPSO's support to Africanstruggle for freedom, justice, stabilityand peace in the continent.

Lalit SurjanSecretary General, AAPSO

AFRICA: 50 YEARSOF INDEPENDENCE

t is slowly dawning on the nations that noeconomic development can sustain in anatmosphere of disharmony and distrustamongst its people. While many countrieshave woken up to this reality and initiatedpeace processes, Sudan is the latest to jointhe bandwagon.

The unabated terror in Darfur in Sudantook a peaceful turn when the country'sGovernment under international pressure tosave the lives of millions under constantthreat of death and contain the numbers ofvictims of the war decided to sit across with

the representatives of the warring factionsand arrive at a peaceful settlement under theguidance of the Qatari royal high command.The world hailed the formidable steps takenby the Sudanese Government in the rightdirection. An unanimous decision was takenby the warring parties to finalize the DarfurPeace Agreement to be signed between theGovt. of Sudan and JEM (The Justice andEquality Movement) in Doha on January,2010. The Sudanese Government once againlived up to genuine concern for its people byinitiating a Peace Agreement with the armed

groups of Darfur, thereby putting the muchdebated conflict to rest. Earlier, theComprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)signed between the North and the South onJanuary 5, 2005 was a welcome step for solv-ing marginalization concerns of the people ofthe peripheries of the country. The declara-tion of general election schedule on April 10,2010 is being hailed as a move towardsdemocratization of the country and is indeedwelcome. Now the onus lies on the stake-holders of this peace agreement to imple-ment it in letter and spirit to ensure a longlasting peace in Darfur, which will not onlybring peace and prosperity within Sudan, butalso in the entire region.Editor’s Note

Challenges of Emerging Economiesin the Global Market Place

e all know of challenges related toLiquidity, High fiscal deficits, lackof Hard infrastructure that devel-oping nations face today. But I

look at the deeper andlarger challenges thatcuts across short -mid,and long term window.Here are five majorones:1. The biggest challengefor the developingnations is to ensure thatthey recognize that they

are a genuinely "young" or"start-up" economy, and do nothave the brand advantages that thelarger, more mature economieslike US or Europe might enjoy. So,first and foremost, they need tobecome credible players on thetable, ensuring that they deliver onthe promise of growth, but moreimportantly they deliver on thepromise of "quality". Withoutdelivering quality, you have nochance of establishing a brand. 50years back, Japan was an emergingeconomy and a developing one,right after world war II. It deliv-ered on the "Brand Japan" bybecoming synonymous to quality.So much so, that Toyota, and otherauto manufacturers became qualityand brand leader in the automotivesector. BRIC nations need to take

a chapter from the Japanese bookand adopt it to their respectiveeconomies in the current times.

2. Second biggest challenge forthe developing nations is to ensurethat they continue to set higheststandards of equitable growth, lawand order to ensure that thesecountries work on continuouslyreducing the risks in these coun-tries, and make the climateamenable for continued invest-ments by domestic and foreigninvestors. Capital will fly toeconomies which are inherentlylower risk, if it can yield similarreturns. BRIC and other develop-ing nations need to keep reducingtheir risk ratings for their economyas seen by sophisticated investorsand entrepreneurs.

3. Poor Public Governance -most developing nations haveshown inability in deliveringfreedoms for a vast majority ofpeople. Politics and Business inmany developing countries haveworked together to use Power as ameans of enrichment. Economicgrowth, rather than being a force ofDemocratic involvement, many atimes reinforces confidence ofbusiness and political elites withdisdain for the needs of civil soci-ety and social justice. And it is hereEntrepreneurs and Professionals

must play an active role in publicrealm. A rapid social stratificationbased on Consumption power isemerging that threatens inclusivegrowth.

4. Weak deliverable EducationSystem -A more objectiveEducation system that deliversemployable people is impedinggrowth - education institutionsand Industry need to collaborateand understand "deliverable" skillsets. If required, Vocational train-ing and specific short time mod-ules specific to high growth areasmust be scaled up to employ largework force that enters every yearin to the commerce world.

5. Sustainable development isalso going to be key here. Theyneed to learn from the mistakes ofthe developed nations, and ensurethat these new emerging countriesare developing growth and eco-nomic strategies which are builtupon the foundation of sustainabil-ity. All clean, green, renewable andecological compliant efforts arepart of this Sustainable develop-ment. For if Growth prematurelytapers off, then the political systemis either captured or dominated byspecial interests that many a timesundermines democracy.

Niraj Sharan Chairman & CEO, Aura Inc

Reach Out

The human mind is strange. It keepssilent on things most significant.Arjuna of the Indian epic,

Mahabharta, could not divulge his inex-plicable fears about the Great War

between the Pandavasand the Kauravas, to hisclosest friend and men-tor Krishna, who intuitively sensed hispredicament and offeredremedial help.

We do not have any'Krishnas' in the worldtoday. We need to breakout of our self imposed

'mind locks' and reach out to people.Some or maybe one of them out therecould be a 'Krishna' in the real sense.Communication is the way to smoothenthe rough edges of life. You may not winthe war of everyday living by hitting thebull's eye like Arjuna, the ace archer, butat least you can bask in the cocoon ofsomeone's warmth and care by claspingthat hand across time and space. Justreach out, won’t you!

SOUL SEARCH

March 01-1508 edit

LETTERS

I

W

T

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

HAIL SUDAN PEACE ENSUES

Afro Asian BusinessChronicle is alaudable initiative

at the time when the AfroAsian region is in need ofa platform which can

facilitate cooperation among thedeveloping countries. Economicdevelopment has a great significanceto ensure prosperity and peace in theregion. It is good to note that the publication, besides business is alsofocusing on cultural diplomacy whichis the need of the hour.

My best wishes for its success.Salman Khurshid

Minister of State (Independent Charge)Ministry of Minority Affairs

Government of India

Iread your publication with keeninterest. It makes great readingand is excellently produced.

Anoop MisraDirector and Head

Deptt. of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases

Fortis Hospitals New Delhi, India

Some of the articles in your pub-lication are very topical and ofgreat relevance. My heartiest

congratulations and best wishes foryour venture.

B V JoshiVice President and Head Business Development,

Reliance Tech Services, DAKC - NaviMumbai, INDIA

Niraj Sharan

Lalit Surjan

March 01-15 09

Hong Kong, afraid of bubble,ups luxury property tax

By JamesPomfret and

Lee Chyen Yee

Hong Kong'sg o v e r n -ment plans

to raise the tax on luxu-ry apartment deals and increaseland supply to try and preventthe property market from over-heating, a trend evident in manyAsian markets.

Financial Secretary JohnTsang said in his annual budgetspeech that stamp duties for lux-ury apartments worth more thanHK$20 million ($2.6 million)would be raised to 4.25% of thetransaction value from 3.75%from April 1.

“The increased risk of a bub-ble forming in the property mar-ket has also aroused public con-cern about the difficulty in buy-ing homes,” Tsang said. ''Anysuch fluctuations in propertyprices would have a profoundimpact on the economy, on hun-dreds of thousands of flat ownersand on the public.'' Averagehouse prices in Hong Kong haverisen nearly 30% since the first

quarter of last year, sparkingconcerns that it faces a higherrisk of a property bubble thanmost of the rest of Asia.

Residential property priceshave been rising strongly due todemand from wealthy mainlandChinese, tight land supply andloose monetary policy.

The plans outlined by Tsangwill curb some speculation inhigh-end property, though theimpact will be muted on the over-all real estate market.

“That tax increase has beenrumoured in the market for quitesome time,” Wong Leung-shing,analyst at Centaline Property.”The negative impact will be lim-ited because frankly, the super-rich will still be able to afford thenew stamp duty.” “There couldbe another side effect. The richspeculators will likely shift theirfocus and buy smaller and cheap-er apartments, so that's not par-ticularly good news for the massmarket.” And that is what theHong Kong government will bewatching out for next.

“We will closely monitor thetrading of properties valued at orbelow HK$20 million. If there is

excessive speculation in the trad-ing of these properties, we willconsider extending the measuresto these transactions,” Tsangsaid.

Prices of luxury property inHong Kong have surged morethan 40% last year. A weak dol-lar and expectations that interestrates in the United States, andtherefore in Hong Kong, will staylow are also encouraging foreign-ers to buy.

The government has also saidmay release more land for sale toward off a property bubble. Themarket, however, has shown nosign of slowing, with a large-scaleland auction in last week ofFebruary fetching $432 million,well above expectations.

Some Asian governments havebeen implementing policies toprevent asset bubbles frombursting, which would derailhard-earned economic growth.

Last week, Singapore imposeda new stamp duty on homes soldwithin one year of purchase andcapped the maximum housingloan at 80 percent of the proper-ty value.

Reuters

Malaysia is likely to give equal taxtreatment to Islamic finance andconventional banking under a

new tax regime next year, ensuring shariabanking products are not disadvantaged,a tax expert said.

Malaysia plans to impose a goods andservices tax from 2011, a move thatwould potentially raise the cost ofIslamic financing transactions as theytypically involve more legal steps thanconventional finance.

That had prompted concern Malaysia,the world's largest sukuk market, wouldfall out of favour with Islamic financeinvestors because they would have to paymore tax on deals.

But PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC)said the government has indicated inindustry discussions that Islamic financewould be given equal tax treatment whenthe tax is levied.

“With the goods and services tax, taxneutrality would also be provided,'' PWCsenior executive director Jennifer Changsaid in an interview.

“The government is basically sayingthat these transactions are there just tofacilitate for example the issuance ofsukuk, and it just so happens that under-lying there are all these transactions.”Taxation is a key hurdle to the develop-ment of Islamic banking globally, as themultiple transfers of assets typical to theindustry tends to raise the cost of shariafinancing.

An Islamic bond based on the ijara orleasing structure would typically attractmore tax than conventional debt as thesale and subsequent lease of the underly-

ing asset would be taxed.Singapore, Indonesia and Britain have

changed laws to give Islamic finance taxneutrality. South Korea's parliament willdebate a proposal to treat sukuk as bondsto give sukuk issuers the same tax advan-tages as those applied to conventionalissuers.

Malaysia has generally provided taxbenefits to encourage Malaysian compa-nies to sell Islamic bonds rather than con-ventional debt.

Malaysia has given Islamic financinginstruments a 20% stamp duty exemptionuntil 2015 and sharia insurers have a taxexemption on overseas profits.

Malaysia plans to introduce the goodsand services tax in mid-2011 to broadenits revenue base and help plug a budgetdeficit which is running at its biggest inover two decades. The governmentexpects the 4% tax to raise 1 billion ring-git a year more than an existing sales taxthat is projected to yield 7.8 billion ring-git ($2.31 billion) in 2010.

Reuters

S.Korea may propose GlobalDollar FundSouth Korea may propose at a G20summit in November the setting up aglobal pool to offer emergency dollarfunds to financial institutions in theevent of another economic crisis. Seoul,which chairs the G20 this year, is infor-mally proposing the idea to Japan, theUnited States and European nations,Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported, cit-ing ''global financial sources''. Under theplan, major economies will pool fundsfrom their foreign reserves, which canbe used to help private financial institu-tions that are unable to tap the moneymarket, the Nikkei said. Some in theJapanese government welcome the pro-posal as a way to make use of Japan'shuge foreign reserves sized at around100 trillion yen ($1,124 billion), thepaper said. But it's uncertain whetherthe proposal will gain G20 understand-ing because Seoul has yet to come upwith details of the plan, it said.

Syria, Iran sign “no visa”agreement Syria and Iran have signed a 'no visa'agreement whereby citizens of onecountry would not need visas to enterthe other, and vice versa.The agree-ment was signed by Syrian ForeignMinister Waleed Al-Muallem and hisIranian counterpart Manuchehr Motaki,in the presence of Iranian PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrianleader Bashar Al-Assad.The agreement was signed after summittalks between the two leaders lastThursday. In a statement, Al-Assad saidthat the agreement would consolidatecommon interest between the two sides,and strengthen relations between theIranian and Syrian people after decadesof relations confined to the political levelalone. He also noted that economicrelations could not remain limited tolarge companies, because true relationswere built on individuals and people.

Foreign EnergyInvestment Turkmenistan, Central Asia's largest gasproducer expected foreign energyinvestment, which is almost all underproduction sharing agreements (PSAs),to rise by more than 46% this year.The former Soviet republic's PSA part-ners include London-listed Dragon Oiland Chinese state firm CNPC.Yagshigeldy Kakayev, the head of thestate agency in charge of hydrocarbonresources, said PSA investment wouldrise to $4.1 billion this year from $2.8billion in 2009. ''Turkmenistan is interested in significant investment into strategic sectors.

in brief

asia

imaging: Maayank

imaging: Maayank

New Malaysian tax won'tpenalise sharia finance-expert

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

The indigenous influenza vac-cine, which is undergoing

clinical trials on humans, will beapproved for prescription in Indiain April, Indian Health andFamily Welfare Minister GhulamNabi Azad has revealed.

Speaking toreporters on the side-lines of a function inBangalore recently, hesaid the governmenthad ''procured theseed'' and it was beingdeveloped in variousprivate pharmaceuti-cal laboratories withactive help from gov-ernment.

''India will be massproducing its ownvaccine for influenza next month.Scaling up the production will notbe a problem. Enough stock of thevaccine will be made available inquick time,'' the minister said.

The vaccine can be prescribedto treat different types of influen-za including A-H1N1 (Swine Flu)

and avian influenza, he said.''Actually, the outbreak of

swine flu forced us to speed upthe development of the vaccinefor influenza. The Phase I trialson animals have been completed.It is being tested on humans at

present. We are hopeful of releas-ing it in the market by nextmonth,'' he said.

Mr Azad said the governmenthad procured ''the seed'' fromWorld Health Organization fordevelopment of the vaccine bythe pharma companies. uni

Transition periodThe transition period is for one year. Dairy ani-

mals must be transitioned (managed 100% organi-cally) for one year. This is aone-time, whole herd conver-sion to organic. All animalsmust be managed organicallyfrom the date the transitionstarts.

Land It is recommended that at least 90% of the land

be certifiable before starting the transition process.Land must not have had any prohibited substances,i.e. synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides,treated seeds, sewage sludge, GMO seeds or inocu-lants, etc, applied for at least 36 months (3 years)prior to the harvest of an organic crop. Crops har-vested from transitional fields must be completelysegregated from organic crops.

Feed Dairy animals in transition must be fed 100%

organic feed for a full year. This may be from fieldsthat qualify for certification that are included inyour Organic Farm Plan.

All feed supplements, including minerals andsalt blocks must be approved. Antibiotics, GMO-derived products, animal by-products, urea, manureand synthetic preservatives are not permitted in anyfeed products. Mineral supplements must not

contain prohibited ingredients (such as mineral oiland artificial flavors & colors). Use of treated seedsmust be discontinued.

A Pasturing plan mustbe developed. All animalssix months and older arerequired to be on pastureduring the grazing season.

Animals must get a significant amount of their for-age from pasture during the grazing season.

Extension workInitiatives will have to be taken to educate the

dairy farmers that prevention is better than cure.Use of natural medicines & their benefit demon-stration in terms of animal health, fertility manage-ment, and mastitis control should be given top priority. These farms will be the new incarnation ofthe old Extension services. Unlike presentExtension services, these farms will be participat-ing in a productive cost center farming activity bymaking use of the best of scientifically trainedmanpower for their practical functioning. The bestof modern Vet techniques of ET, AI, Breeding, cattle Nutrition and care strategies, specific to theparticular geographic location will have to be practised.

M.J. Saxena, MD, Ayurvet Limited Dr. Anup Kalra, CEO (AFB), Ayurvet Limited

OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDOrganic milk is naturally higher in certainnutrients than non-organic milk. One suchnutrient is Omega 3 Fatty acid. Omega 3

fatty acids are essential for maintaining ahealthy heart, supple and flexible joints,

healthy growth and strong bones and teeth.This is due to the fact that organic cows are fed

higher levels of natural red clover than non-organic cows. Further research shows that organic

milk can contain up to 71% more Omega 3 thannon-organic milk and has a better ratio of Omega 3 to

Omega 6 than non-organic milk.

VITAMIN E, VITAMIN A ANDANTIOXIDANTS

Research has also established that organic milk hashigher levels of vitamin E, vitamin A and antioxidants.Organically reared cows, which eat high levels of freshgrass, clover pasture and grass clover silage, producedmilk which is on an average 50% higher in Vitamin E(alpha tocopherol), 75% higher in beta carotene (whichour bodies convert to Vitamin A) and two to three timeshigher in the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthine thannon-organic milk.

CONJUGATED LINOLEIC ACID (CLA)All milk contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which isbelieved to boost immune function and reduce thegrowth of tumors. CLA levels are generally higher inorganic milk, possibly because organic cows eat higherlevels of grass hay and silage rather than concentrates.In fact, meat and dairy products from grass-fed animalscan produce 300-500% more CLA than those of cattlefed the usual diet of 50% hay and silage, and 50% grain.

PESTICIDESOrganic dairy farms do not use artificial pesticides(insecticides, fungicides or herbicides) on pastureswhere cows graze. It has been estimated that in theWestern world, human bodies contain traces of at least300-500 potentially harmful chemicals absorbed from ourfood. In The Indian context, this would be much higher.The use of increased chemicals since the Second WorldWar when farming became more intensive led toincreased percentage of chemicals in the human body.Some experts believe that children may be particularlysusceptible to pesticide residues since they have a high-er intake of food per unit of body weight than adults,have immature organ systems and may have limitedability to detoxify these substances.The rise in human fertility problems has been linked to pes-ticides. Five out of the 12 most commonly found pesticideresidues are suspected to be hormone disrupting chemicals

10 wellness & pharma March 01-15

Indigenous influenzavaccine

Daiichi Sankyo and its strategic partnerRanbaxy Laboratories, which together

make up the Daiichi Sankyo Group are toestablish Daiichi Sankyo Espha Co to marketgeneric drugs as well as Daiichi Sankyo'sproducts in Japan.

Announcing that Daiichi Sankyo Esphawill start its operations with effect from April1, 2010,

Takashi Shoda, president and CEO ofDaiichi Sankyo explained 'We believe that ourunderstanding of the Japanese market andlocal presence united with the global expertiseof Ranbaxy in the generic arena will enable usto achieve efficient and immediate entry intothe generic market'.

Remarking on the development, AtulSobti, CEO and Managing Director ofRanbaxy, said, "Daiichi Sankyo's leadershipin the Japanese pharmaceutical market willguide us to further expand our business inJapan. Ranbaxy is committed to bringing highquality, affordable medicines to doctors andpatients across the world."

Completing their strategic alliance inNovember 2008 to form the unique HybridBusiness Model, Daiichi Sankyo andRanbaxy have been moving forward to fullyleverage the Model. The expanded global

reach enables leading market positions in bothdeveloped and emerging markets through thesupply of innovative and established pharma-ceuticals.

In addition to meeting unmet medicalneeds through the development and marketingof outstanding new drugs, the Group alsooperates an OTC business, and is acceleratingits efforts to reinforce its vaccine business.The Group is also committed to providingpatients with reliable generic pharmaceuticalsthrough a strong network of Japanese andoverseas companies. Leveraging Ranbaxy'sstrengths, Daiichi Sankyo Espha will expandits product pipeline and continuously realisestable supply.

REINVENTINGTRADITIONAL MILK

PRODUCTION SYSTEM The increased demand for milk has resulted in

increase in milk yield but ran into major problems of pesticide & antibiotic residue. TheWestern recognized these problems & adopted

newer techniques or organic milk production.

Organic

farming

Daiichi Sankyo to enter generics business

requirements

HEALTH BENEFITSOF ORGANIC MILK

Organic milk has all the nutri-tional goodness of non-organicmilk but, due to the cows' morenatural diet, it also has some

additional health benefits.

Food CLA (mg/g fat)

Homogenized 5.50milk Butter 4.70Ice cream 3.60

Food CLA (mg/g fat)

Fresh beef 4.30Veal 2.70Lamb 5.60

If you spend even one day inone Island, you would need17,000 days to exploreIndonesia, the largest archipela-

go in the world. Seeped in naturalbeauty, Indonesia consists of fivemajor islands -Sumatra, Java,Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua andabout 30 small groups of islands, a totalof more than 17,000 islands. The clearseas, amazing surf breaks and beautifulbeaches conspire with living volcanoesand virgin jungles to make this nation atropical paradise. Individual cultures andtraditional practices live side by side withromantic getaways and some of theworld’s best hotels, spas and golf cours-es. It is truly an incredible destination –visit and explore.

Stretching 3,200 miles (5,120 km)from east to west, the country straddlesthe equator between the Australia andAsia continents. Indonesia’s long andcolourful history reads like an epic moviewith a huge cast of sultans and kings,colonisers and power mongers, invaders,migrants and explorers.

Wholesome paradiseFOOD

Try out popular local foods like sateor nasi goring or some of the myriaddishes from different parts of the archi-pelago. Dine in comfort and enjoy inter-national cuisines - Italian, Greek, French,Spanish, Brazilian, Vietnamese, Chinese,

K o r e a n ,Japanese, Thai...

ENJOY ACRUISE

Take a sail boat andexplore the archipelago.Visit the KomodoDragons in KomodoIsland and nearby Rinca.Or dive into the BandaSeas. Snokelling and divingor exploring the seas is anoth-er world to explore.

BEACHESThere is no shortage of beauti-

ful beaches in the islands. FromSabang in Sumatra, to Bintan, ashort ferry ride from Singapore, toJava, to Bali to the Islands of Malukuand beyond, you can discover yourown private paradise, and sometimes,your own private islands!

Bali’s most famous beach attractssurfers, and sunworshippers. The hugecurving bay stretches from Kuta toLegian, Seminyak and all the way toCanggu. Great surf, great entertainment!On the doorstp of Jakarta, the ThousandIslands lure visitors with their blue

waters, white sand beaches and spectacu-lar diving.

ADVENTUREClimb a volcano, raft rugged rivers,

trek though virgin jungles, surf some ofthe world’s best breaks, ride a horse, gopony trekking, paragliding, mountainbiking or just explore the myriad streetcorners to uncover hidden treasures.TheOrang Utan living in the jungles ofSumatra and Kalimantan or IndonesianBorneo are fascinating to watch. In Baliand Lampung in Sumatra, elephantreserves have been created where youcan see white elephants

ACCOMMODATIONWhile most hotels can be found

in Bali and Jakarta, Indonesia has afine selection scattered in surpris-ing corners of the islands, even inthe jungles of Papua! Hotelssuit all budgets and tastes fromsimple cosy hotels to five starand fine boutique properties.They can be found on beach-es, in coffee plantations,looking over paddy fieldsas well as retreats andexquisite hideaways.Then there are the spaswhich lure many a health conscioustourist.

AABC Travel Desk

12travelMarch 01-15

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

LAND OF 17,000 Total international visitors

6,549million

Indian tourists toIndonesia

1,10,000

Expected target forIndia

1,77,000

in 2009

for 2010

INDO

NESI

A

PLACES OF INTEREST

JAKARTA

A modern sports arena in the centre of

Jakarta hosts national and international

sports events

ULUWATU

Way back in the 11th century a Hindu

priest made his way to Bali and founded

the great sea temple of Uluwatu on the

island’s southern tip. Known for its spec-

tacular sunsets, and great surfing, Uluwatu

is a must see on any itinerary.

LAKE TOBA

North Sumatra’s Lake Toba came from a

huge volcanic explosion that created a

lake as big as Singapore. Samosir Island

in the centre of the lake is an idyllic get-

away. Ferries and pleasure boats ply

across to the island.

AMED

Black sand beaches, simple fishing vil-

lages, a spectacular coastline, boutique

hotels, memorable diving and snorkelling.

Far from the crowds of southern Bali,

Amed is peaceful and very Balinese.

JAVA

Java’s green rice fields define the land-

scape and provide the staple food for mil-

lions of people.

Get

ty Im

ages

Advt

EXPLOSION DESPITE CONSTRUCTION BAN

March 01-1514 sports & fitness

Former AustraliaPM Howard linedup for ICC roleFormer Australia Prime Minister JohnHoward has been nominated by theAustralian and New Zealand boards toserve as International Cricket Council(ICC) president from 2012. “We arepleased that an eminent candidate inJohn Howard has agreed, after anexhaustive process, to take the role ofjoint Australia-New Zealand nominee forthe ICC presidency,” Cricket Australiaand New Zealand Cricket chairmen JackClarke and Alan Isaac said in a jointstatement. “Australia and New Zealand considereda number of distinguished candidates ofglobal stature before deciding to inviteJohn Howard to consider the role”. TheICC's rotation policy requires anAustralasian candidate to fill the rolefrom 2012. Incumbent president DavidMorgan is due to hand over to India'sSharad Pawar for a two-year term laterthis year.

Reuters

Shot Togolesegoalkeeper toreturn to France Togo goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale willreturn to France after being treated in aSouth African hospital for gunshotwounds he received when the team'sbus was ambushed in Angola inJanuary, a medical official has said.Obilale underwent surgery inJohannesburg after being evacuatedfrom Angola following the attack on thebus carrying the national team to theAfrican Nations Cup. “The bills havebeen paid and there are already plansafoot to repatriate the player back toFrance, where he will continue toreceive health care,” said FraserLamond, medical director of healthassistance company International SOS.The date of Obilale's return had yet tobe finalised, he added.Two members of Togo's soccer delega-tion and the bus driver were killed whengunmen opened fire. Seven people wereinjured in the attack, which was claimedby the FLEC, a rebel group fighting forsecession in the Angolan province ofCabinda. Obilale, Togo's reserve goal-keeper who plays for French fourth divi-sion side Pontivy, was shot in the backand abdomen. The Togolese govern-ment recalled the team for three days ofmourning after the attack, and the country was later banned from the nexttwo African Nations Cups for withdraw-ing their team.

Reuters

CNN to sponsorLotus F1 team CNN International will sponsor Lotus F1in a long-term deal, the new Malaysian-backed Formula One team has said.The agreement will see the news net-work's branding on the race cars, driv-ers' overalls and all team clothing fromthis season. Lotus team principal TonyFernandes said the deal was a ''sign ofthe positive impact we have alreadymade in the global business market thatsuch a prestigious brand... has madethe decision to partner with us''. Nofinancial details were given.

Reuters

in brief

Nick Mulvenney from Beijing

Golf participation in China is setto explode despite a develop-ment ban on new courses andthe extortionate cost of green

fees, according to the China GolfAssociation (CGA).

China's first golf course was built in1984 and although around 500 more havesprung up since, a six-year-old govern-ment ban on new development hasslowed growth.

The United States, by contrast, hasaround 18,000 courses, while Europe hasan estimated 6,000, leading some to ques-tion whether the facilities exist to supporta boom in Chinese golf. “The existing500 courses are enough for the basicdevelopment of golf,” CGA vice presi-dent Wang Liwei told Reuters.

“No matter how many courses thereare—500, 1,000 or 10,000—it is a sportof players. We are also taking alternatemeasures, such as building driving rangesin public green spaces.” Last year's deci-sion to add golf to the Olympic pro-gramme from 2014 has helped rekindleinterest in developing the sport, its inclu-sion seen as a key factor in the allocationof resources by the state-run sport

system. “Entering the Olympics willgreatly push forward the development ofgolf in China,” Wang added.

“The good news is that golf hasalready become a sport in the (quadrenni-al) National Games, which means it willdraw greater attention and support from

provincial sports authorities.“A platform will be built through

them, to popularise the sport among theyouth, and to improve professional golfand marketing development. ''Golf inChina will enjoy explosive growth afterthat.”

North Indian State ofPunjab will host the15-day long Kabaddi World

Cup from March end to Aprilfirst week, according to StateDeputy Chief Minister SukhbirBadal.

“Even as the exact dates of thetournament is yet to beannounced, government sourcessaid the sporting event is likelyto be scheduled from March 31to April 10.To encourage this tra-ditional game of Punjab, the stategovernment had announced arecord prize of Rs 1 crore for thewinner of the event with Rs 51lakh and Rs 25 lakh respectivelyfor the teams taking the secondand third positions respectively”he said.

In India, the sport attainedNational status in 1918. At the1936 Berlin Olympics, Kabaddigot its first international expo-sure. The first Asian Kabaddi

Championships was held atKolkata in the year 1980.Kabaddi was included as demon-stration game in the 1982 AsianGames hosted by India. Since1984, Kabaddi has been playedin the South Asian FederationGames which is conducted everytwo years. Kabaddi was includedin the 1990 Asian Games held atBeijing and India went on to winthe Gold medal. Since then Indiahas been the reigning championwinning in the succeeding AsianGames held at Hiroshima in1994, Bangkok in 1998, Busanin 2002 and Doha in 2006. Thefirst World KabaddiChampionship was held atHamilton, Ontario, Canada in theyear 1995. Kabaddi was introduced to the African coun-tries as a demonstration sport inthe 2002 Afro-Asian Gameshosted by India.

AABC Sports Desk

Out of action for months after injuring his left wristduring the India-Bangladesh Test series in January,all-rounder Yuvraj Singh is confident of regaining

his fitness ahead of the first match of the Indian PremierLeague (IPL). Yuvraj's IPL side - Kings XI Punjab - hasalready been hit hard with uncertainty looming over the par-ticipation of key players like all-rounder Irfan Pathan andpacer Brett Lee.IPL Chairman and Commissioner LalitModi has confirmed on twitter that Lee would be playing atthe event, but the Australian pacer's participation is unclearas he has not bowled for a long time now, and his fitness isalso a cause of worry after undergoing a surgery which hecalls the ''most painful yet''. Thus, Yuvraj's availabilitywould give a major boost to the side. ''I will start batting inthree days. It's been five weeks (since the injury), so yes, Ishould be good for the first game,'' the 28-year-old wasquoted as saying by 'cricinfo'. The Indian all-rounder, keep-ing aside the fitness issues,believes that his side has agood chance at the thirdedition of theTwenty20 tournamentand can make it to thesemi-finals, providedthat they have a fullstrength team. ''We hada good first year, madethe semi-finals easilywhen we had our fullbench of players,'' hesaid.

''So if we have ourfull bench of playersuninjured, we have agood chance of goingthrough to the semi-finals.

uni

Yuvraj to return in first IPL match

Punjab to hostKabaddi World Cup

PIB

China banned the buildingof new courses in 2004because of concerns overthe illegal procurement ofvast tracts of farmland bysome developers.“We resolutely abide by thegovernment policy of sav-ing farmland,” said Wang,who is also a governmentofficial.“However, there is still

some wasteland or barren landthat could be used to build golfcourses.” Developers havealways found ways around theban by, for example, requestingpermission to build a hotel withhuge surrounding grounds --

which subsequently prove largeenough to accommodate 18holes.Playing is still, however,prohibitively expensive for allbut the richest Chinese—joininga club cost an average of 53,000dollar in 2008, according to aKPMG report.That makes the CGA's struggleto popularise the game amongChina's 1.3 billion people anuphill task, and their youthdevelopment strategy all themore important. The CGA hasnot been slow to enlist the sup-port of the wealthy clubs, for-eign golf tours and sponsorswho have flocked to China inrecent years, including Europe's

ILLE

GAL

GRAB

S

By Dr. Trinath Mishra, IPS (retd.)

Kumbh-Melas, which are heldevery twelve years, at Prayag(Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjainand Nasik are the most vibrant

expression of Hinduism's vitality. TheseMelas are recognized as the biggest con-gregations of human beings on earth. Tensof millions of devotees flock to theseplaces braving all odds to commemoratethe discovery of the nectar by gods. To par-ticipate in the Kumbh is held to be akin tohaving a sip of the nectar; touching theDivine and experiencing the sense ofimmortality. This ageless festival symbol-izes the continuity of the Indian culture.

In ancient days saints and sages usedthese occasions to review and update theSmriti texts - the code of conduct andsocial-religious laws. Now-a-days, thereligious organizations representing vari-ous sects, sub-sects and denominationsassert their identity and showcase theirachievements. Akharas - the groups ofShaivite Nagas, Vaishnavite Bairagis,

Nanakputra Udasis and Sikh Nirwalas, arethe most colorful and conspicuous of theseorganizations. They are the photographersdelight.

The religious environment is overpow-ering. A visitor, even a tourist, does notescape being touched by it. However, thereis a secular aspect of the Kumbh-Melaswhich remains largely invisible - its busi-ness side.

A year or two before the event, the stategovernments start the preparations for it.The city is spruced up to greet the visitors.Like Lord Jagannath of Puri, the four citiesget a 'Nava-Kalevara' (new body) everytwelfth year.

77This means a big bonanza for thecontractors. Repair of roads and culverts,laying of new roads, repair of ghats andother related Mela works are undertakenon priority basis. The budget runs intocrores of rupees. On the river banks a temporary township is settled. The biggestKumbh Town comes up on the sand banksof the Ganga in Allahabad. 'Kalpa-vasa' orcamping in the Sangam area for a month isa special feature of Prayag Kumbh. There

a town housing more than three millionpeople for a month is set-up. Arrangementsto cater to the needs of other 8-10 millionpilgrims are also meant. All accommoda-tion is in tents, make-shift cottages madeof plywood, C.G.I. sheets and thatch.Bricks are used for the floor. This providesopportunities for all kind of traders - tenthousewallahs, who are the biggest benefi-ciary; fire-wood sellers; wood and thatchsellers; brick-kiln owners, electric-goodssuppliers etc.

The tourism industry also thrives onthese occasions. Domestic as well as for-eign tourists visit in large numbers. Theirnumber is increasing steadily. All hotelsand guest-houses get choked full. Statetourism deptts. now put up sprawling tentcamps to accommodate them. Caterers ofall variety have a profitable time. Thetransporters- bus operators, taxi operators,goods carriers and boat-men, are anotherset of beneficiaries. The fares shoot upin this period. These people have aseller's market.

Those who provideassistance to pilgrims inconducting the variousreligious ceremoniesbenefit most. ThePandas, Pujaries, Ghatias,garland-sellers, Sandal-pasteappliers, sellers of religious

items and books all gain profitably. In 1977 Prayag Kumbh I was SSP i/c

Kumbh Mela. I had asked a Panda, "Howmuch did you make in this Kumbh?"

"Should last till the next," was his reply.THE SECULAR SIDE

15art & cultureMarch 01-15

BUSINESS CHRONICLE

Khushboo Gupta

Rehearsals,greenrooms, costumes,screens, orchestra and arclights—that's what every child of

Surabhi family learns while in cradle,and precisely why they are versatile -ever ready to play any role at any time.Sans a script or a set situation, the artistsrise to an idea, a passion, a thought to puton a fabulous act together. Perseveranceis the mantra and per-fection the motto.This seventh genera-tion troupe stronglybelieves that their solepurpose of descendingon this earth is to enter-tain the people!

A unique institutionof its kind, Surabhilegacy can be traced toa village called Surabhi(originally calledSorugu), a tiny hamletin the Kadapa districtof Southern Indianstate of AndhraPradesh. A handful ofinspired men andwomen from theVanarasa family made a modest begin-ning in the art of puppet show in the mid-nineteenth century. A vibrant theatrewith more than three thousand familymembers and an impressive unbrokenchain of 125 years, they have more thanmastered the art of presentation ofmythological characters and situationswith great alacrity and spontaneity.

Spanning over seven generations pro-viding great entertainment to both theurban and rural masses, the family artistsperform mythological scenes with great

ease and a touch of naturalism such asVasudeva carrying Lord Krishna acrossYamuna or Krishna taming the five-head-ed serpent Kalia or the killing of Kamsaon the stage with great aplomb. It hasalso imbibed a shadow of puppet showand the traditional Parsi Theatre of thenineteenth century. Complex sets splen-dorous backdrops, aesthetic light andspecial visual effects are the landmarksthat evoke immense excitement. “It calls

for a subject of study”says the Sri LankanProfessor SivgnanamJeyasankar, who ispresently in India towitness the perform-ance.of this theatre.

“The family man-agement system andthat of the companyinfluence each other.The women's pivotalrole in the system issomething unheard of",the Professor observes"They perform on andoff the stage; in fact newmanagerial theories canbe created with a thor-ough study”, he adds.

Despite their preeminence in the field,the Surabhi theatre has been struggling tomake both ends meet since their expens-es have skyrocketed, and the earningshave plummeted. “In the current sce-nario, we need to be looked after by thecorporate world for a decent survival,"laments Mr. R. Nageswara Rao, directorand backbone of Surabhi theatre. Dramais a great way to portray the cultural her-itage of a country and cultural synergybetween nations is the need of the hour,said the Director.

Acting to perfection Cultural Diplomacy Version 2.0As nations seek to build com-

petitive advantages - and jobs,the foremost tool being used is

trade promotion, investment promo-tion, and economic diplomacy. Insome cases, even public diplomacy isbeing used to great effect to buildbridges across cultures.

The success of the US-Indianuclear deal is perhaps one of theleading examples of public diploma-cy in contemporary international rela-tions. The over 2.5 million strongIndian American community played anot insignificant to help bridge USand Indian positions on atoms forpeace and trust.

With lessons learnt from publicdiplomacy in the US-India nucleardeal, we find that there is significantopportunity for India to deepen andwiden its people-to-people relationswith countries in the African andAsian continents. Traditionally suchrelations have been promoted via cul-tural events, exchange of artistes, etc.between India and other nations.

Such efforts, though commend-able, are unfortunately rigid and oftentimes merely ceremonial with littlesubsequent value. This column pro-poses that cultural diplomacy shouldrise beyond mere ceremonial symbol-isms and truly engage people of dif-ferent cultures in a meaningful andenduring exchange.

As case in point, for example, letus say, cultural diplomacy betweenIndia and Asian countries with signif-icant Buddhist populations. It is a no-brainer that India has a very rich andunique Buddhist legacy - it is also ano-brainer that several countries ofAsia also have deep and abiding cul-tural and religious respect and lovefor Buddhism.

Therefore, we propose a Version2.0 of Cultural Diplomacy - as a casestudy, should India and various Asiannations with love and civilizationalrespect for Buddha try to engagemore with each other? What aboutmutual exchange of tourism toBuddhist spots? What about a filmfestival, say in Colombo that featuresa genre of Indian movies withBuddhist themes?

The provinces in India and Asiancountries should engage more andestablish common cultural themes sothat the people to people contact leadsto economic diplomacy, and mutualtrade promotion which in turn leadsto harmony and peace.

The time and opportunity for ver-sion 2.0 of cultural diplomacy is here- let us build and live in a world thatis richer in cross-cultural relations.

Rami Renthlei and Anne Ralte

PIB

Senior Project Managers Imagindia Institute

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