India
India lifts restrictions on FDI in single-brand retail
India formally eliminated restrictions on foreign investment in its single-brand retail sector on Tuesday, opening the door to the likes of Swedish furniture giant IKEA to open stores in Asia's third largest economy.
Foreign retailers that want to invest beyond the previous cap of 51 percent ownership will need to source 30 percent of their goods from small and village industries, said the government, which faces five state elections in the next few months.
Mumbai's retialers sell more for less
Spending on Mumbai's high street has never been cheaper for such a long period. If you walk through the city’s Linking Road that houses showrooms of some of the world's biggest brands, it's almost a surreal experience: be it Mango, Vero Moda, Jack & Jones, or shoe brand Aldo – all these premium retailers are literally shouting from their rooftops that they are offering up to 70 percent discounts. Designer wear Mogra has gone one up and is offering up to 80 percent "sale".
A long inflation battle in India
It's tough to envy India's central bank right now, but it's making the right calls in a very tough situation.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India kept interest rates unchanged despite a slowdown that has forced the bank to ratchet down expectations for India's economic growth to 7 percent for the year ending in March. It did reduce banks' cash reserve requirements to help ease a liquidity crunch, but said it's premature to cut policy interest rates.
India expects growth will slow to 7pc, keeps interest rates unchanged
India's central bank said growth will slow to 7 percent this fiscal year, but left interest rates unchanged on Tuesday as it struggles to balance a toxic mix of high inflation and a flagging economy. The bank cut the cash reserve ratio – the percentage of cash commercial banks must keep on hand – by half a percentage point, to 5.5 percent. That should add INR320 billion (USD6.4b) to India's cash-strapped banking system. India's benchmark Sensex stock index rose 1.2 percent.
India's GDP growth in FY12 just 6.8pc
The World Bank (WB) said it expected the Indian economy to grow by just 6.8 percent in the current financial year, significantly lower than the 7.25-7.75 percent pegged by the finance ministry, as the economy faced high interest rates and there was "heightened uncertainty of policy reforms".
The WB also cut its forecast for global economic growth rate to 2.5 percent for calendar year 2012 from its earlier estimate of 3.7 percent. It also cautioned against the persisting threat of a global financial shock, "similar in magnitude to the Lehman crisis".
India's inflation rate falls sharply to 7.5pc
India's inflation rate fell sharply in December to 7.5 percent from 9.1 percent in the previous month, partly due to an easing in the rate of food price rises.
This is the first time inflation has fallen below 9 percent in almost two years.
Despite the fall, analysts said the central bank was unlikely to cut interest rates, which currently stand at 8.5 percent, next week.
India's retail outlook a bit cloudy now, says Deloitte
The retail outlook for India in the short term is a bit cloudy due to the recent developments on the policy front, according to a report by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and Stores Media. In the long term, FDI in multi-brand retail would have a positive impact on economic growth of India, and it would benefit the world's leading retailers "as they continue to seek global opportunities beyond the Chinese market", the report said.
Indian firms follow unique path
Firms like Reliance Industries, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Hindustan Unilever are moving into categories beyond their original competencies in India, continuing the trend towards big conglomerates.
Reliance, one of India's biggest holding companies, and active in sectors from retail to energy, has entered the media industry via a tie-up with Network18 Group, the broadcaster.
This alliance was linked to Reliance's upcoming roll out of a 4G broadband wireless network, which will receive preferential access to Network18's content.
India's FDI: Sparking a revival in the retail sector
With the intention of strengthening the Indian economy, the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy has been progressively liberalised since 1991. Over a period of time, the Indian government has opened the doors for FDI in a multitude of sectors, barring a few. FDI caps and conditionalities in a few regulated sectors have also been raised progressively, coupled with procedural simplification and introduction of measures to facilitate smooth implementation of FDI-funded projects.
India facing difficult times, says PM
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said his government expected a reasonably good growth rate of seven per cent in the ongoing 2011-12 financial year.
"Our country is going through difficult times.... Despite an adverse international environment, the Indian economy is expected to grow by about 7 percent this financial year," Singh said, while inaugurating the tenth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) here.
Last month, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had estimated a 7.5 percent growth for 2011-12.
