Riding the Indian Tiger: Understanding India -- the World's Fastest Growing Market

274 Pages·2008·1.32 MB·English

by  William Nobrega

R I
IDING THE NDIAN
T
IGER
UNDERSTANDING INDIA—THE WORLD’S
FASTEST GROWING MARKET
William Nobrega
Ashish Sinha
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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R I T
IDING THE NDIAN IGER
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R I
IDING THE NDIAN
T
IGER
UNDERSTANDING INDIA—THE WORLD’S
FASTEST GROWING MARKET
William Nobrega
Ashish Sinha
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2008 by William Nobrega and Ashish Sinha. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nobrega, William, 1961-
Riding the Indian tiger: understanding India—the world’s fastest growing market / William
Nobrega, Ashish Sinha.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-470-18327-4 (cloth)
1. India—Economic policy—1991- 2. Capital market—India. 3. Investments, Foreign—
India. I. Sinha, Ashish, 1970- II. Title.
HC435.3.N67 2008
330.954’053—dc22
2007033360
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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C O N T E N T S
PREFACE vii
INTRODUCTION: THE HISTORY OF INDIA IN EIGHT PAGES ix
CHAPTER 1 THE LARGEST MARKET THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN 3
CHAPTER 2 BULLS AND BEARS IN MUMBAI: INDIA’S FINANCIAL
MARKETS 29
CHAPTER 3 WHY INDIA WILL OUTPERFORM CHINA 65
CHAPTER 4 THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED: THE GOLD THAT LIES
UNDER INDIA’S CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE 93
CHAPTER 5 THE NEXT WAVE: WHAT WILL DRIVE INDIA’S
GROWTH AFTER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND
OUTSOURCING 117
CHAPTER 6 LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP 173
CHAPTER 7 UNDERSTANDING THE INDIAN BUSINESS CULTURE 197
CONCLUSION: THE TIGER BEGINS TO ROAR 231
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 239
INDEX 241
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P R E FA C E
T his book is about the new India, not the old. Economically, India
has not mattered much for the past 40 years or so. It has long been a
travel destination, but from a business perspective, who cares if you
have a billion customers with no money to spend! But now that the
world has witnessed the economic rise of China and sees India on a
similar path, and Indian entrepreneurs are making bold moves on the
global stage, the “ new India ” is on everyone ’ s radar.
T he international media and business community are beginning
to take notice, but unfortunately, much that has been written recent-
ly has either focused on political issues, such as Hindu nationalism,
or social issues, like rural poverty, or the sorry state of the Indian
infrastructure. What the media has overlooked is the important ways
the infrastructure is improving and what that means for business.
What about India’ s capital markets and a rising middle class? How
will those factors impact business opportunities? And what about
India ’ s democratic institutions, which we believe will give the coun-
try a long - term advantage over China ’ s authoritarian model?
We wrote this book to give businesspeople and other interested
readers an exciting look at “ n ew India.” If you are a business execu-
tive, investment banker, investor, or entrepreneur, and you think that
the third largest economy in the world might translate into opportu-
nity, then you should read this book. If you are a politician, student,
or academic, and you think that the world’ s largest democracy might
be worth taking a closer look at, then you should read this book. If
you are a citizen of the planet Earth and you are curious to know
how the world’ s fastest- g rowing market and second most populous
nation will impact your life — this book is for you.
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