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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 07:39:05 -0800 If I could personally congratulate Mr Ratan Tata, I would for coming up with a 100 per cent Indian car. The auto industry is a big employer in every country, and India needs good paying jobs to stabilise the economy. Tata is the only person who put his money where his mouth is. Look at the Birlas. They are richer than the Tatas, but unwilling to spend money in inventions. They would rather have the government ban imports so they can still sell their Ambassadors of misery. Of course the Maruti supremo was quick to compare it with a newly wed bride, the point he failed to mention was that the true colours of adjustment also has to do with the family in which the bride enters. The Tata's will have to prove that their car is roadworthy and dependable, and will start consistently without opening the hood in the mornings. Keep up the good work, Tata. We in the US back you for your vision and commitment in keeping the industry in shape and appeal.
Date sent: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 11:17:50 -0600 I am really impressed with the articles on the auto industry. I am a keen auto enthusiast and even though I currently reside in the US, I keep up with the Indian auto scenario. I found the articles succinct and informative. Kudos to Rediff!
Date sent: Sat, 17 Jan 1998 20:37:05 +0530 The report is very crisp and exactly what I want. Keep it up. I will look forward to more such reports.
Date sent: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 21:40:26 -0400 The report is good. Whenever I visit this site, I do go to the business section, but what makes me nervous is that there is no option but to see the stock prices. Sandesh Desai
Date sent: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 21:07:18 -0800 The announcement of a steep increase of 2 per cent in the prime lending rate by Finance Minister Chidambaram, in order to check the rupee slide against the US dollar, is too drastic and will have a tragic effect on the economy. Clearly the finance minister has been caught off-guard, and the country will pay for it dearly. Generally, we are accustomed to see prime rate increments of no more than 1/4 per cent in most Western countries, or 1/2 per cent in urgent situations. Something seems awfully wrong. Pradip Parekh
Date sent: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 23:31:14 +0200 Excellent work Keep it up! Truly comprehensive and true coverage. Gives the real picture in the markets back home which is not covered by any other journal. A subscriber and reader of your magazine, Kiev, Ukraine
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 13:20:33 -0500 I read your article with interest. I worked for MUL for over 4 years, and I can assure you that if it were not for Mr Bhargava's amazing leadership and immense intelligence, Maruti would certainly not have been where it is today. To have RSSLNB lead the company is not a good idea -- there are other capable individuals in MUL (many of whom have probably quit by now), who would make a better MD. However, the important point in this "struggle" is not who should be MD, but should the government be in the company at all? The government is effectively stalling MUL's growth by refusing to pump in additional funds for expansion/modernisation through either diluting their stake or committing public funds to the company. The government has done enough harm -- if it had not been such a bad year for "luxury" cars, MUL would have been hit even harder by the government's bungling. The only way to handle this is for the government to sell its stake in MUL, and let private enterprise take it from there.
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 13:12:10 -0800 Dilip Thakore needs to be higgly appreciated because of such a wonderful, precise, no-nonsense article. Congrats Dilip. Like all other things, the ending was a mishap. Asking Bhaskaruddu to resign is a reckless statement. Suzuki (nor any one else) did not explain why a joint MD of MUL is suddenly so clumsy as to handle the job of MD. If according to Suzuki, MUL contributes such a tiny portion of its profits, then may be it need not interfere in the appointment of Bhaskaruddu. Usually these things are an ego clash than the actual (lack of) merits of the individual in question. I would guess that Bhaskaruddu would turn around the company in such a fashion that the whole world would buy cars from India. Although, this is a far fetched idea, the potential of Bhaskaruddu can go up to these levels. We need not worry about silly blackmailing by Suzuki that the entire Indo-Japanese relations are at stake. If indeed they are at stake, then why does not Suzuki drop his punches? Is he really interested in something more than the 2 per cent MUL contributes... like the soverignity of India? Unless, there is substantial proof that Bhaskaruddu is a hopeless and an incapable MD, he should NOT resign. We cannot be controlled by some testy septuagenarian sitting in Japan. Good luck to Bhaskaruddu. Srinivas
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 11:29:52 -0500 (EST) This is a such a one sided article. I think you have never visited Maruti to know the ground realities from the employees of Maruti, as to how Bhargava was making sure of the interests of Suzuki? Don't write such articles without knowledge. I am writing this because I know of the ground realities in Maruti better than you. Maran may be wrong on some points, but at least Bhaskaruddu is 100 times better than Bhargava who used to freak out on great work done by employees. Suzuki exists in many countries but do you know it is incurring losses in many countries. Sarvesh Prakash Singh
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 10:29:17 EST It does seem like Dilip Thakore has a very high opinion of the Japanese -- Indian business relationship. If what I have read is right, Rs 2,300 crores in subsidies have been given to Maruti over the past decade or so. If the Japanese own a 50 per cent share, then they are 50 per cent beneficiaries of that which came from the Indian tax payer. This in my mind looks like a 21st century East India company. If the money were spent in India, it would benefit the Indian market since the money does not leave India. But giving these subsidies to a joint venture seems stupid. And Suzuki is not a major player in the world auto scene. Maybe motorcycles but not cars. The $ 10.25 billion in sales includes motorcycles. Also if the joint venture adds less than 1.9 per cent in sales for Suzuki and even less than that in profit, what are they doing in India? Social work? Something does not add up. All the hassles that Suzuki are willing to put up with in India, seems to me like they feel that there is something to fight for. Maybe Dilip Thakore has information that is not available to the other financial press. But the article has a slant that does not make business sense. Tilak
Date: Thu, 25 Dec 1997 09:03:52 +0530 I enjoyed reading your article. Despite being an exporter, I am quite happy if the rupee stabilises at 40 max. Rajiv Kehr
Date: Thu, 25 Dec 1997 10:00:25 +0800 This is with reference to Dilip Thakore's column on the dangers of the depreciating rupee. I agree with him entirely that we should not allow the rupee into a free fall. His arguments are excellent. One of the reasons for the steep fall in the value of the Far East currencies is the unlimited private sector borrowing. This is proving to be the most difficult repayment obligation -- particularly in Indonesia, Thailand and Korea. In this, India has done fairly well, of course, having learnt the hard way after the ECBs of the '80s. One point on which I do not agree with Thakore is his comment on the Indian banking system. Having been a part of it for 20 years and despite a harsh critic of the system, I feel the recent revelations of the banking systems of the Tigers has improved the standing of the Indian banks. At least, nobody said all nice things about the Indian banks and one day dropped them like hot potatoes. Indian banks have been having their share of criticism but in the last few years, they have cleaned their balance sheets fairly well. At least we know the quality of the portfolios of various banks, they are more transparent and the public have confidence in them. I was in Jakarta last month when there was a run on a major bank. One could feel the panic in the city at that time. In all this, one should be wary of the Western media which has a herd mentality. There is hardly a Western news media which analyses the countries dispassionately. India has been having a negative publicity till recently, and if because of the problems of the FE Tigers, it improves its rating with S&P and Moody's, one has to be careful and realise that this is a case of hot money and will flow very fast both ways. The only way India can improve its real rating is by improving the infrastructure and first of all get the POLITICIANS TO BEHAVE.
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 21:43:51 -0500 It was an excellent explanation of the Korean crisis. However, to your reference of under capitilisation of the Indian industry -- What in your mind would be the optimum capitalisation ratio for the Indian Industry? Secondly, do you really think that there are considerable politically directed loans in India too? I found your article very interesting.
Date sent: Wed, 10 Dec 97 17:06:00 PST I'm very happy that you could find such people and bring out their success stories. I think this should inspire every Indians. Keep up this spirit Anil
Date sent: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 15:34:24 -0600 It was great, and very informative. Good job!
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 18:40:58 -0600 Oh yeah, we already know that, now what we 'gonna' do about it? For god's sake, no more 5 year 'commissions,' 'studies,' '5 year plans,' let's get on with it, shall we? I say, pray, beg and/or steal but for goodness sake's, let us DO IT. Mohan Marette Fort Worth, USA
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 00:02:15 +0530 Excise Commissioner J B Singh is either very naive or acting like one when he asks: "Is there any harm if liquor bottles and logos are displayed on hoardings or newspapers? In what way is it different from displaying it in the shops?" It is needless to say that in the shop just the "Buyer would see the ad. In newspapers and hoardings the whole of Goa will see it." The difference may not be apparent to him, but the citizens are the sufferers at the hands of a growing population of alcoholics, whose inhibitory centers (in the brain) are rendered ineffective under the influence of liquor. The increasing cases of deaths on the roads due to intoxicated drivers. Rapes and molestation, 30 % of which is done under the state of intoxication. Incestuous rapes and molestation more than 40% in the state of intoxication. Looting, arson, etc is a sign of what happens due to the promotion of liquor. J B Singh and his likes are just helping them achieve that against the interest of the nation. Ashraf Mohamedy
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 21:09:22 +0800 I really enjoyed your story. Keep the good work. James Selva
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 10:07:37 -0500 Very interesting. Good article. Made me want to try some new ketchup. B Noble
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