A US renewable energy company, 8minutenergy Renewables LLC, will set up 4 GW of solar power capacity in India.“8minutenergy Renewables will pursue a 4 GW solar photovoltaic project pipeline in India,” a statement from the White House said. “These utility-scale solar projects are expected to generate over 10,000 jobs in the construction phase in India.”
Founded in 2009 by Martin Hermann and Tom Buttgenbach, the California-based company has 330 MW of operating solar plants. Plants of total capacity of 400 MW are under construction, while another 3,000 MW are in the pipeline. These include an 800 MW solar farm at Mount Signal in California, claimed to be the world’s largest.
Another US company, SunLink Corporation “is partnering with Indian companies to deploy 1.4 GW of solar projects over the next five years,” the statement said. SunLink manufactures solar racking systems, or the frames on which modules are mounted. It also provides performance monitoring solutions.
In the meantime, the US has announced the setting up of a Clean Energy Finance Hub, which “will serve as a coordinating mechanism to focus US Government effort that, in partnership with leading Indian financial institutions, will increase renewable energy investment in India,” the statement said.
Rabobank-promoted private equity fund ‘India Agri Business Fund II’ has invested around Rs 100 crore in agrochemical firm Parijat Industries to acquire a minority stake.
Rabo Equity Advisors, the investment advisors for PE fund ‘India Agri Business Fund II’, announced an “undisclosed investment” into Parijat Industries to acquire minority stake. Sources said that an investment of about Rs 100 crore has been made in Parijat Industries.
This is the second investment by India Agri Business Fund II, Rabo Equity advisors said in a statement. The first investment, which was also of about Rs 100 crore, was announced last week in Cremica Food Industries.
India Agri Business Fund II is a USD 200 million private equity fund targeted at expansion/growth of Indian food and agri-business companies in India across the value chain.
The fund sponsored by Rabobank along with pedigreed anchors namely CDC Group and Asian Development Bank.
Commenting on the investment, Rabo Equity Advisors CMD Rajesh Srivastava said that it expects Parijat to be a leading agrochemical player in the high potential sector. “We are especially excited at the company’s export forays and new products expected to be launched in the domestic market over the next few years,” he added.
Parijat is looking to achieve sales of Rs 1,500 crore by 2021 and also expand its domestic distribution network to 10,000 retail points in three years from 4,500 at present. “Our team at Parijat is committed to exponentially growing its domestic presence besides the international footprint. We are delighted to have Rabo Equity as our partner and hope to leverage their extensive domain knowledge and global outreach in the food and agri sector,” said Keshav Anand, Chairman & Managing Director, Parijat Industries.
Rabo Equity Advisors currently advises two funds in India, IABF-I and IABF-II. India Agri Business Fund I, a USD 120 million fund which is invested in 10 companies across sectors like biotechnology, warehousing, edible oils, dairy and basmati rice.
India has jumped 13 positions from last year to rank second among 30 developing countries this year on ease of doing business, according to a study topped by China.
According to 2016 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), which ranks top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide, a pick-up in GDP growth and better clarity regarding FDI regulations have helped India achieve a second ranking.
Debashish Mukherjee, a partner with A T Kearney and co-head of the Consumer Industries & Retail Products Practice for India and Southeast Asia, said,
India’s strong ranking reflects foreigner retailers increased optimism in its retail market and its vast growth potential. India has relaxed several key Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulations in single-brand retail and this has paved the way for multinational firms to enter the market, Mukherjee said.
India’s retail sector has expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent between 2013 and 2015, with annual sales crossing the $1 trillion mark, according to A T Kearney, a London-based business consultancy.
India has also become the world’s fastest growing economy. That, coupled with a large population base and the easing of FDI regulations in the sector, has made it an even more attractive market, it said in the ranking.
We expect to see e-commerce to propel India’s growth and make it a more attractive proposition. However, there are some challenges as well. India remains a challenging and complex market for foreign retailers, where understanding dynamics at the state level is important. Infrastructure bottlenecks including labour laws, complex regulations, high labour attrition rates, and limited high-quality retail space remain areas of concerns for retailers, Mukherjee said.
The country’s retail sector has also benefited from the rapid growth in e-commerce. India is the world’s second largest Internet market and the increasing Internet and smartphone penetration is contributing to the expansion of e-commerce.
As Indian consumers become more comfortable with shopping online, venture capital and private equity firms have boosted investment in the sector, providing further momentum, the report said.
Denmark-based companies such as Danfoss, Grunfdfoss, sRamboll, Novo Nordisk and Novozymes are eyeing the benefits of Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India programme to set up their base in the country.
Indian ambasssador to Copenhagen Rajeev Shahare said Denmark has embarked on a number of steps to be ahead of the curve in doing business with India. “The Danish Confederation of Industries (DI) has an office in Mumbai; the Danish Trade Council (part of its Ministry of Foreign Office) has a strong representative office in Bangalore; Asia House in Copenhagen has commissioned a study on how to effectively participate in the Smart Cities project in India,” the ambassador told FE.
While many big companies like Danfoss and Carlsberg already have their units, some others are in the process of doing so. “One company is setting up a unit in Hyderabad for manufacturing of ocean cleaning pumps and equipment; another consulting company is exploring Mumbai for its regional office,” he said.
The Scandinavian country is keen on setting up production facilities in India taking advantage of India’s low cost of production, availability of technical and English speaking manpower and a compatible working environment, he added.
India can also partner Denmark and learn from its best practices in areas like health services, food technology, dairy management, agro services, solid waste management and waste water management.
There are around 125 Danish companies in India and probably all top companies have a strong presence — the shipping giant Maersk (AP Moller) which also developed the Pipavav port and is now looking for investments in ports on the eastern coast; Danfoss, Grunfdfoss, Ramboll, leading pharma company Novo Nordisk etc. The Danish companies operating in India are directly or indirectly providing around two lakh jobs to locals here.
According to Statistics Denmark, the Danish FDI in India was $854 million in 2014, $731 million in 2013 compared to $931 million in 2012 (up from $877 million in 2011). Major Danish investments in India have been made in sectors such as manufacturing, trade and transport, financial and business services.
On the other hand, the Indian investment in Denmark were $71 million in 2014, $89 million in 2013 compared to $103 million in 2012 (up from $112 million in 2011) (Source: Statistics Denmark). Around 30 Indian companies have a presence in Denmark. Of them, 24 are IT companies, two belong to life sciences field and four are diversified mainly in the renewable space.
There are some major success stories of companies from Denmark that need to be highlighted. “The largest Danish bank- Danske Bank has all its back end operations in India; the entire Kommune (municipal) operations of KMD are handled by an Indian software company,” according to Shahare.
The finance ministry has eased certain rules in reporting by financial institutions to comply with an agreement between India and the US for implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
Financial institutions had told the government it was difficult to take physical self-certification from the subscribers. Heeding to the complaint, the ministry allowed obtaining of self-certification through internet banking platform.
The ministry also did away with the requirement of TIN number if a person is in a country where that number is not provided.
There were also queries from financial institutions about valuation of custodial accounts maintained with depositories. The ministry clarified that valuation of securities might be done at the values regularly communicated by depositories to the depository participants and brokers.
“Hopefully, this should help reporting of unlisted securities,” said Bahroze Kamdin, partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells.
FATCA requires foreign financial institutions (FFI) to report information about financial accounts held by US taxpayers. If the FFI does not comply, the IRS can impose a 30 per cent withholding penalty on US payments made to the FFI.
“Tanzania’s electricity sector faces another important challenge. As it is heavily dependent on hydropower, energy provision cannot be ascertained in times of drought,” Tanzania’s prime minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said.
Tanzania plans to invest $1.9 billion each year by 2025 in energy projects in a bid to end power shortages and boost industrial growth in East Africa’s second-biggest economy, its prime minister said.
Tanzania aims to boost power generation capacity to 10,000 megawatts from around 1,500MW at present, using natural gas and coal and reducing its dependence on hydro power sources.
“Tanzania’s electricity sector faces another important challenge. As it is heavily dependent on hydropower, energy provision cannot be ascertained in times of drought,” Tanzania’s prime minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said in a statement late on Tuesday.
“Severe and recurrent droughts in the past few years triggered a devastating power crisis as electricity generation in most of the hydropower stations have progressively been declining in recent years, occasionally resulting in long hours of power black outs.”
Majaliwa said the government wants to see more private capital investment in the energy sector.
“The projected power projects funding exceeds the existing government fiscal space,” he said. “To attract private capital, the government is improving institutional set up, legal and regulatory frameworks.”
Investors have long complained that lack of reliable power was one of the obstacles of doing business in Tanzania.
“We will facilitate your efforts to make your investments in India profitable. We must take advantage of the opportunities that abound in the growth of both our economies,” said President Pranab Mukherjee.
India today promised a conducive environment for Chinese investors and urged them to participate in ‘Make in India’ and other flagship programmes of the government to boost bilateral trade.
“We will facilitate your efforts to make your investments in India profitable. We must take advantage of the opportunities that abound in the growth of both our economies,” said President Pranab Mukherjee addressing a meeting of the India-China Business Forum here on the second day of his four-day visit to China.
The forum, attended by industrialists and businessmen of both sides, was told by the President that India would like to see greater market for Indian products in China in a bid to balance bilateral trade which is now in China’s favour.
This, he said, would particularly be needed in sectors where the two countries have natural complementarities as in drugs and pharmaceuticals and IT and IT-related services and agro products.
“It is a matter of satisfaction that there is emerging focus on two-way investment flows,” he said.
The President noted that the bilateral trade between India and China has grown steadily since the turn of this century from USD 2.91 billion in 2000 to USD 71 billion last year.
Guangdon province boasts of a USD one trillion economy with high manufacturing and other industries along with being a powerful export house of China. It has sister province relationship with Gujarat and Maharashtra.
A pilot smart city cooperation project has been announced between Shenzhen and the Gujarat last year.
Referring to the links of 2nd century before the Christian era between Guangdong and Kanchipuram through a direct sea route, Mukherjee said this is an exciting time for India and China to reinforce the old linkages and join hands for new.
Noting that India has recorded a growth rate of 7.6 per cent each year for over a decade now, he said India believes that it cannot grow in isolation.
“In an increasingly interconnected world, India would like to benefit from technology advances and best practices of different countries.
“The comprehensive reforms introduced in key areas of our economy have enhanced the ease of doing business in India. Our foreign investment regime has been liberalised through simplified procedures. And removal of restrictions on foreign investments,” he said.
The President said these reforms have renewed the interest of global investors in India. In 2014, there was a 32 per cent growth in investments and in 2015, India emerged as one of the biggest global investment destinations, he said.
Mukherjee said India would like more of China’s overseas direct investment which has now crossed USD 100 billion mark.
He said the Indian government was setting up industrial corridors, national investment and manufacturing zones and dedicated freight corridors to stimulate investment in this sector.
Its ‘100 Smart Cities” initiative will transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, he said.
“India welcomes your participation in these programmes. Chinese companies with inherent strengths in infrastructure and manufacturing can look towards India as an important destination in their ‘Going Global’ strategy.
“On their part, Indian companies can partner with Chinese enterprises in the new domain of ‘Internet of Things’ which underlines the ‘Made in China 2025’ strategy,” he said.
The President said he was happy to note that a good start has been made by Chinese businesses who are investing in infrastructure projects and industrial parks in India.
Bilateral cooperation in India’s railway sector is also progressing well, he said.
A good number of premier Indian IT firms and other manufacturers are present in China, he said and noted that Indian entrepreneurs were also considering the prospects of jointly exploring opportunities in third countries.
Summing up, the President said India believed there was great potential for economic and commercial cooperation among the two countries, which faced similar opportunities on coming together.
“To realise the full potential of our economic partnership, it is important to bridge the information gap between our business communities.
“We are committed to providing a conducive environment for more investments from China. We stand ready to facilitate many more collaborations between the industry and businesses of our two countries across different sectors. India invites investors from China to be partners in India’s growth story,” he said.
A US renewable energy company, 8minutenergy Renewables LLC, will set up 4 GW of solar power capacity in India.“8minutenergy Renewables will pursue a 4 GW solar photovoltaic project pipeline in India,” a statement from the White House said. “These utility-scale solar projects are expected to generate over 10,000 jobs in the construction phase in India.”
