Category — Construction

Cummins Inc.’s (CMI) fourth-quarter profit climbed a better-than-expected 34% as strong sales in India and other BRIC countries offset weaker demand in the engine-maker’s North American market.  The maker of truck engines and power generation systems continues to expect growth, with plans to add about 2,500 U.S. jobs this year after adding only 185 in 2010.

The company’s profit was led by 48% increase in international sales that accounted for 64% of total sales. Sales in India shot up 37% during the year.

APW President Systems Ltd. which designs and manufactures standard and customized racks and enclosure systems in India, serving information technology and telecom end-users, was acquired by French giant Schneider Electric. In 2009, Schneider Electric acquired Bangalore-based Meher Capacitors, which makes power factor correction capacitors and another local company, Conzerv Systems, in the energy efficiency market.

With 380 employees and annual sales of about $22 million, APW President Systems has manufacturing facilities at Pune and Bangalore. Laurent Vernerey, Executive Vice-President of Schneider Electric’s IT Business commented: “APW President Systems Ltd brings to us the expertise to customize racks and enclosures for our global data centre customer base. With this acquisition, Schneider Electric becomes a leading Indian player in integrated data center infrastructure solutions and further accelerates its development in the domain of data centers.”

Schneider Electric proposes to acquire shares representing a maximum of 75% of the share capital of the company by acquiring a minimum of 55% of the share capital from the promoter shareholders of APW President Systems Ltd.  and up to 20% of the share capital of the company pursuant to a mandatory open offer to be made to the other shareholders.

More such acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships are likely to unfold as India builds out its infrastructure. Western companies are also beginning to consider India as a base for regional operations in surrounding countries.

India’s federal Planning Commission projects an investment of $300 billion in electrical power between 2012-2017 which is the period covered by the “Twelfth Five Year plan”, according to member B.K. Chaturvedi

The commission estimates that India will see capacity addition of 100 gigawatts during the period; this cCapacity addition will result in investment of at least $100 billion. Chaturvedi says a similar investment of around $100 billion is expected in distribution and transmission during the next plan period. And, that overall investment, including generation work in progress currently, will come to $300 billion of the $1 trillion infrastructure development planned.

The bulk of this power investment will result in coal-fired power plants, but India is also investing vigorously in nuclear, solar, hydro-electric, gas and oil, bio-mass and more. This investment will be a combination of government and private spending and may include debt funded from foreign sources.

This opens up many opportunities for foreign companies across the ecosystem, despite serious challenges in succeeding in this sector in India.

American investors should well be aware of the emerging economies growing rapidly on the continent of Africa. Indian industry has already put into action a collaborative effort with the national government to develop strategies toward competing with China and European nations for capturing these business growth opportunities, particularly in East Africa.

India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma accompanied a delegation representing 187 Indian companies to “Namaskar Africa,” meetings held October. 14-15 in Nairobi, Kenya. This event involves a series of opportunities promoting India-Africa business networking organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Part of the strategy has Sharma meeting with the top Kenya government representatives – President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. Additionally, FICCI President Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice chairman for Bharti Enterprises, leads the Indian business delegation that has expressed a strong interest toward developing telecom business opportunities in Africa.

India currently experiences bilateral trade of $30 billion throughout Africa. Efforts are underway to expand trade into East Africa where trade revenue is much lower at $4 billion. The countries with representatives meeting with Indian counterparts include Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya and Seychelles.

A challenge toward successfully competing has brought together both industry and government leaders in India in order to devise a plan that will “level” the field. In a study released by FICCI, one strong competition challenge presents itself because Chinese companies are government-owned with far greater capital at hand for investment than any privately owned Indian companies. According to the report India is attempting to counter the offers from Europe and China by extending credit lines to African companies. “This will help source capital goods from India,” Mitra said in the report.

Africa has experienced  5.4 percent economic growth throughout the past decade and the outlook is rapidly improving. The FICCI report further states that: “For the first time in over three decades, a large number of African countries have begun to show sustained economic growth at the rates that are similar to the rest of the developing world and exceed that of most of the developed countries. The study discovered several areas of opportunity for Indian companies in addition to telecom including healthcare and pharmaceuticals, road and railway construction, general construction, power and mining.

Called called Antila, after a mythical island in the Atlantic Ocean, the world’s most expensive home has just been completed after seven years of construction.  Billionare owner Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita and three children are set to move into the opulent 27-floor building after an housewarming party on October 28, which boosts a guest list of India’s elite that reportedly includes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. The 37,000-square meter home,  is bigger than the Palace of Versailles, London‘s Telegraph reported. And with a wait staff of 600 and six floors of parking  for 168 cars it may feel more like a hotel to some. But it is not.

The billion-dollar Ambani Home

Antilia was built in consultation with US architecture firms Perkins + Will & Hirsch Bedner Associates.  American architects have had a major hand in shaping India’s new skyline.

Just above the six floors of parking is the is the lobby, with nine elevators servicing the building. On the eighth floor lies a 50-seat movie theater since the Ambanis can’t readily go to a commercial cinema show, given their celebrity status. Another floor consists of a ballroom that has a ceiling mostly covered by crystal chandeliers. Other floors contain a health spa with a gym and dance studio, swimming pools, lounges, a vehicle maintenance area and, of course, guest rooms. The Ambani family will reside on the skyscraper’s top four floors with breathtaking views of the Arabian Sea on one side and the back bay on the other.