21 Indian firms have the potential to take on the world

A nice article in DNA India

A recent study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the Confederation of Indian Industry reveals that among emerging global companies, 21 Indian companies have the potential to emerge as serious challengers.

Companies from theserapidly developing economies (RDEs) have ambitious leaders, low costs, appealing products or services, and modern facilities and systems to back their global thrust.

“India’s unique advantage has been the labour-cost advantage. Will it (the advantage) go as salaries and wages rise?” asks Arun Maira, chairman of BCG India. His answer: “Our analysis reveals that Indian companies will continue to enjoy the advantage.”

-There are five Tata group companies featuring in the list of 21 Indian global challengers: Tata Consultancy, the software services company, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, the lowest cost steel producer in the world, Tata Tea and VSNL, the international long distance player. All of them have made global acquisitions at some point of time in the recent past. Very few local companies, barring Tata Tea, which acquired Tetley, have global brands in their portfolios, though.

-Apart from the Tata companies, the findings reveal a diverse list of Indian companies from diverse sectors. There is Videocon International, Venugopal Dhoot’s flagship consumer durables company, that created a stir when it acquired Thomson group’s European plants. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries features in the list as it unfolds a global strategy to take on the Du Ponts and British Petroleums.The company gave a hint of its global ambitions when it acquired Trevira in Europe.

-The Thapar group has also made a comeback after group company Crompton Greaves made an impressive turnaround under scion Gautam Thapar. The company had gone through a dramatic overhaul and is now preparing to compete globally with peers like ABB and Siemens.

-ONGC is the only public sector Indian company featuring in the list.Bharat Forge, the second largest forging company, and Mahindra & Mahindra, represent the automobile ancillary and utility vehicles and tractor space.

-Among drug majors, it is Yusuf Hamied’s Cipla which dished out a cocktail drug combination to take on global pharma majors for treating Aids and bird flu at bargain rates.

-Kumar Mangalam Birla’s AV Birla group has Hindalco representing it, while Azim Premji’s Wipro and Infosys Technologies are among the software stalwarts