WINDS OF CHANGE BLOW EASTWARDS

The news that has caught everyone's attention is about the Tata Motors being the primary bidders for the opwnership of premium car brands Jaguar and Land Rover.
though the indian business lobby cannot seem to wipe the grins off their faces the bid does not seem to have gone down too well with the 'Amreekans'. infact, they are positively scowling.
and whyever not? us brownies (who still prefer bullock carts over 4 wheelers)as the OWNERS? now how can THAT be possible?

but possible it is. and possible it became the day a certain defiant Mr. Mittal took over Arcelor, ignoring all the preset norms even as the world sat gaping and frowning. though the mergers and takeovers by indian companies were not exactly never before heard of concepts, the sheer scale of it is what got it all the attention. and got the world to sit up.

for years western countries have been lobbying for greater globalisation and liberalization. for the uninitiated (like Mr. Twisteroni haha) globalisation is the process of integrating a country's economy with the world economy. liberalization means removing as many governmental restrictions as possible to make the environment business friendly.
what is the draw? well... cheaper production costs. not to mention the huge scope for selling their goods as their own markets are saturated. hence they arrive at our doorstep like the Santa carrying modern technology, foreign capital and blah as Christmas presents. don't think they imagined the tide would turn this quick. but turn it did. AND HOW!
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1991
India's foreign exchange reserves are a paltry $1 billion. India is on the brink of a financial emergency. the whole mixed economy approach has gone wrong somewhere down the line. all that remains is an economy in shambles with the protectionist government regimen bearing the brunt of its own screwed up policies.
comes in FinMin Manmohan Singh. out goes the license raj, protectionism and govt. mollycoddling.
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CIRCA 2007
India is slowly but steadily moving towards realizing its dream of becoming an economic superpower. the markets are booming (though a bit shaky), forex reserves are swelling at the speed of light and the labor force winning over the world.

though they still crib about the redtapism, the bureaucracy and blah (out of habit i think!) they can't seem to keep away. $100m, $500m, $1b investments have become an everyday phenomena. everyone wants to have a piece of India's success story. make hay WHEREVER the sun shines.
BUT but but... till not so long ago it was all about THEM coming here.
now the tables are turning. and faster than anyone thought. within 16 years of opening up its economy india has come this far. who had thought Mukesh Ambani would beat the likes of Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Carlos Slim Helu to emerge the richest individual?
not most of us atleast!
and that...sums it all. i'm sure that though the world saw it coming, they didnt think it would be this fast. India and China BOTH to be countered together? not a very pleasing thought!
no wonder they seem to be stepping back, trying to protect themselves. protectionism seems to be becoming the order of the day... be it the farmer's subsidies, the Kyoto Protocol or whatever.
so much so, these businesses seem to have been too shocked to bother with the guise of politeness or tact. take for example Paul White's (CEO, Orient Express Hotels) response to Tata's bid:
"We donot believe that there is a strategic fit between your predominanty domestic Indian hotel chain and our global portfolio of luxury hotels and unique travel experiences and we donot wish to be involved in an attempt to improve the performance of your non-Indian properties. We believe any association of our luxury brands and properties with your brands and properties would result in a reduction in the value of our brands and of our business and would likely lead to erosion in the RevPar premiums currently achieved by our properties."

but this i guess is just a tip of the ieberg. as the negotiations for the car companies start in earnest all the worms will start falling out of the bag in the form of quotable quotes, dirty behind the scene stories and sugary public refusals, responses or interviews.

but what remains to be seen is how far will things go. will they turn really ugly and take a racist turn? will the governments be dragged in (once again!)? or will the preservation of goodwill and brand names rule on both side?

I for one am looking for the saga to unfold, as im sure is half the world.
watch this space for more! ;-)

all the comments and opinions expressed here are completely are my personal ones. you are welcome to agree or differ. :)