ASIA!

SOUTH ASIA DIGEST

November 2008

Back to his roots
Ratan Tata has decided to make his Nano, the world's cheapest car, in Gujarat, the state where the Tata clan, of Parsi faith, made their first home in India after their ancestors fled Persia (now Iran). If all goes well Tata Motors will be given a 1,000 acre site near Sanand, 26 km from the western fringes of Ahmedabad, to build the first Nano plant. Completed cars, which seat four, would be sold around US$2,500. Tata Motors has pulled out of a planned plant in West Bengal due to protest by farmers and other residents.

And to America
Tata Consultancy Services will buy Citigroup's India back office unit for US$505 million and expects revenue to start flowing in from the acquisition as soon as the first quarter of next year, says TCS Chief Operating Officer N. Chandrasekaran.

Nomura in, Lehman out
Japan's Nomura will buy over the defunct Lehman Brothers' India operations, a move that would expand its workforce in India by 3,000, including 1,200 IT professionals.

August 2008

Mittal buys Dubai firm
ArcelorMittal, the biggest steelmaker in the world, has acquired 60% of privately held Dubai Steel Trading Company for an undisclosed sum. Dubai Steel, formed in 1986, has 50 staff and sells mainly to the construction market.

Sun power
Solar Semiconductor Private Ltd, a maker of photovoltaic modules based in Hyderabad, has signed a 10-year agreement to supply Deutsche Solar AG, a subsidiary of SolarWorld AG of Germany, worth US$1.2 billion.

Bra power
Triumph, arguably the most famous women underwear brand in the world, will invest Rs 100 crore (US$25 million) to open 100 stores in India in the next two years.