Resumo de India Inc - On A Growth Trajectory

India Inc. has been in an upbeat mood over the past couple of days. The reasons to cheer and pop champagne have been varied. In less than a fortnight M&A deals woth 40 billion dollars, involving entities of Indian origin have been clinched. These developments have been testimony to the growing muscle of India Inc. Afetr all, India is a prized member of the elite BRIC club - an acronym for the fabled Brazil, Russia, India China Club. These are a group of countries which are expected to dwarf the performance of the developed world by 2050.India rung in the New Year with the Tata bid for Corus hitting all the right notes. The battle lines were clearly drawn between the Brazilian behemoth CSN and the Tatas in a feirce bid to gain a controlling stake in the Anglo Dutch steelmaker Corus. After months of bids and counterbids and nine auction bids, the Indian steel biggie finally managed to outwit its Brazilian counterpart, and bought the firm at an unrivalled bid of 608 pence per share. The acquisition is expected to catapult India into global spotlight. The deal pegged at over $11 billion, is the largest acquisition ever made by an Indian firm, and will make Tata Steel the fifth largest steel player plying within the global market.The Tata deal was followed closely on its heels by the Birla's acquisition of the US based aluminium firm Novelis. The $6 billion all-cash acquisition was negotiated to increase the geographical footprint of the domestic group.Meanwhile Hutchinson's stake in the fourth largest Indian telecom player Hutch Essar went under the hammer recently, which saw Vodafone emerge as the winner. Vodafone pipped rival bids from Reliance Communications, a consortium led by the Hindujas and Hutch's partner in the venture - the Ruias led Essar Group. Vodafone the world's largest company by revenue clearly saw an untapped potential within the burgeoning Indian telecom market, thereby justifying its $19.3 billion bid.As the initial euphoria dies down and talks of aligning the synergies of the acquiring and target companies do the rounds, India would take baby steps towards global recognition. Moreover, such deals would transform the image of the country from a hot investment destination, to a competitive bidder within the M&A space. More and more Indian companies have been taking their first steps, albeit with trepidation, to competitively bid for foreign companies put up for sale. Meanwhile, other factors are becoming increasingly indicative of Corporate India shining.Indian Industrial production surged to 11.1% in December reflecting a strong demand within the domestic economy. Economic growth rate for 2007 has been pegged at 9.2% - highest in the past 18 years. However, the growth is not an unmixed blessing. Inflation within the Indian economy has been hovering at a 2 year high of 6.58%. The stock markets have been reeling under tremendous pressure, arising spiralling inflation rate concerns.Housing finance companies and banks have come under increasing duress from the government to rein in the home loan rates and interest rates respectively. However, the overheated economy has thrown the interest rates into a tizzy. Sample this - ICICI Bank, the largest private player within the Indian banking space has increased home loan rates to 11% - the highest in 2 years.Experts have tried to allay the layman's fears by stating that these are symtoms manifested by a growing economy. By the looks of it, the trend is expected to continue, at least in the near future. Meanwhile mundane concerns such are crippling home loan rates, soaring property values, rising production costs and interest rates, will do nothing to dampen the spirit of India Inc., as the celebrations and revelry continue unabated

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