Yaayaavar Jeevan Mera - Part 3

Our 10 day trip across the North East is being published by News Bench - Delhi.

The articles feature photos taken by us and a translation of Kim's writing.

Part 3 was published on 6th February 2012.

The entire article can be read at : http://www.newsbench.in/links.aspx?nt=060212123004.gif

Yaayaavar Jeevan Mera - Part 2

Our 10 day trip across the North East is being published by News Bench - Delhi.

The articles feature photos taken by us and a translation of Kim's writing.

Part 2 was published on 30th January 2012.

The entire article can be read at : http://www.newsbench.in/links.aspx?nt=300112014223.gif

Yaayaavar Jeevan Mera - Part 1

Our 10 day trip across the North East is being published by News Bench - Delhi.

The articles feature photos taken by us and a translation of Kim's writing.

Part 1 was published on 23rd January 2012.

The entire article can be read at http://www.newsbench.in/links.aspx?nt=230112010948.gif

Pynduna Dor Roaming Ka Vodafone ha ka thain shatei lam-mihngi

From : U Nongsain Hima
Shillong Edition

Vodafone Ne Assam Aur Purvottar Ke Grahakon ke liye Sabse Kam Roaming dharon ki Ghoshna Ki

From: Shillong Samay
Shillong Edition
17.01.12
Page No. 3

Vodafone introduces lowest roaming rates for customers in Assam

From The Sentinel

GUWAHATI, Jan 16: Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, has announced their new roaming call rates for its post paid and prepaid customers.

Vodafone has introduced free incoming calls and reduced the outgoing call rates to 70p/min for subscribers roaming between Assam and the Northeast (in telecom the States of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh comprise the NE circle and the State of Assam is the Assam circle).

Vodafone is the first telecom operator to have launched such discounted rates on roaming for its customers in the region, giving its customer the power to express and talk freely during travel in this region.  

Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head (Assam and North East) of Vodafone India said in a press release, “We are here to celebrate a significant achievement of free incoming calls on roaming. It is a proud moment since Vodafone will pioneer this new revolution wherein customers from the entire North Eastern States and Assam region will be able to roam economically and seamlessly across the two regions.

This highlights Vodafone’s commitment towards providing superior and uninterrupted telecom services to its customers across Assam and North East. We will continue to provide wide coverage and offer the best bouquet of services and products to the customers in Assam and NE.”

Vodafone Introduces Lowest Roaming Rates in Assam & NE

From Meghalaya Times

16.01.12
Shillong Edition
Page No. 3

Vodafone donates to Anand Bhavan

From Meghalaya Times

Shillong, Dec 28: Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, brought cheers this festive season by donating a cheque of Rs 50,000 to Anand Bhavan, Missionaries of charity.
Giving Christmas a whole new meaning, representatives of Vodafone handed over the gifts and the cheque to Sister Franca of Anand Bhavan on the eve of Christmas this year.

The proceeds was raised by Vodafone from the Wish Tree which they had put up at MUDA Shopping Complex in Police Bazaar, Shillong. Vodafone planned to fulfill the wishes of the children of the Anand Bhavan Missionaries of Charity this year by contributing a sum of money basis the pool of messages found around the tree.

Well-wishers/ Citizens could walk into MUDA and write messages for the kids and put it up on the tree or write them on the graffiti board next to the tree
Gifts and sweets were also distributed amongst children to celebrate the true spirit of joy and celebrations of Festive Season. Santa entertained the children with his games and Cake cutting was done to commemorate the occasion.

Mr. Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head- Assam & North East, Vodafone India said, “Christmas signifies the spirit of joy and celebrations for the people of Assam and North East”.

Vodafone Unveils back2music - an online music launch

back2music was launched on 25th September, 2011. This video captures the launch event sponsored by Vodafone. The press conference was held in Guwahati with an array of reporters and journalists from all leading newspapers and media houses, Senior Vodafone officials of Assam & North East and Senior members of the Gupshup Radio station team. The promoters of the project Rrituraj Sharma and Indrajit Chetia joined online respectively from London and Mumbai.

It is a 10:12 minutes video. Brajesh appears in the clip from 1:20 to 3:50 minutes.

Vodafone bags - Dainik Purvoday's "Best Brand" award for the North East

Dainik Purvoday, the leading Hindi Daily of Northeast, presented the second Northeast Consumer Awards at the state capital on November 12, 2011 to the most preferred brands adjudged by 3000 valid household survey by research agency MaRS across 5 cities of Northeast. The category list this year has increased from 30 last year to 37 to include airlines, watches, apparels, shoes and digital cameras.

Vodafone was selected as Best Brand of the Year. Nokia and Samsung Mobile walked away with the Most Preferred Mobile Phone and Most Preferred Smartphone award respectively.

Governor of Assam Sri J. B. Patnayak and Rajya Sabha MP Bhubaneshwar Kalita gave away the award to Mr Brajesh Bajpai - Business Head (Assam & North East) Vodafone in a colourful function held at D'Royal Auditorio of Royal Group of Institutions in the city.

While appreciating the initiative of Dainik Purvoday group Governor Sri Patnayak said that in future agri-based industries, handicrafts and silk products should also be brought under the purview of these awards. Welcoming the guests the chairman of the Dainik Purvoday Publication Group Sri A. K. Pansari assured that next year the awards will include rural and agri -based products and services also. MP Sri Bhubaneshwar Kalita said that such recognition on a public forum will boost the morale of manufacturers and service providers and incentivise them to improve their products and services. Utpal Kanta, Economic Editor, Dainik Purvoday, said, “As for the recipients, the award not only constitutes the crowning achievement of their efforts, but more importantly it also represents the most valuable reward of all, the knowledge that they have earned the trust and loyalty of consumers.”

Vodafone Announces ‘Birthday Surprise’ for its customers

From : Insight VAS

Vodafone India has partnered with BIG Cinemas to offer a unique initiative for the most valued customers. An endeavor to make Vodafone customers feels special on their birthday.

As a part of the initiative, any Vodafone customers visiting the Big Cinemas screen to watch a movie on their birthday will get a free ticket to watch the movie and a greeting card by Vodafone. During the intermission, Vodafone will also put up a slide on the screen with the Vodafone customer’s name, while playing the birthday jingle in the background.

So, between 12th Aug to 26th Aug, 2012, any Vodafone customer, who goes to see a movie in BIG Cinemas at Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Palanpur, Patan and Vapi, will get a Birthday surprise that will truly Delight!

Additionally, select BIG Cinemas in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, will present the Vodafone birthday customer with a birthday cake.

The Vodafone BIG ‘Birthday Surprise’ initiative is a part of the ongoing ‘Vodafone Delights’ programme that seeks to bring multiple simple, meaningful joys to the life of every customer, throughout the year.

On the initiative, Mr. Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head, Vodafone Gujarat, said, “At Vodafone making every customer feel special is second nature and it is one of the key factors driving everything we do. Birthdays are special to all and we wanted to contribute to the celebratory moments with a generous dose of ‘feel special’ elements, without being intrusive. We are happy that BIG Cinemas has partnered with us to make birthdays extra beautiful for Vodafone customers.”

The Vodafone Birthday Surprise initiative will be implemented across 41 cities, 55 multiplexes and 162 screens. It is expected to reach approximately 60000 cinema viewers each day.

Cinema halls offering the programme will have display material highlighting the initiative.

Brajesh Bajpai - Interview in Asomiya Pratidin

Publication: Asomiya Pratidin

Headline: Vodafone

Synopsis: Vodafone Group, in India Vodafone Essar started its mobile service in 1994 and they were able to reach the limit of 20,200 crore revenue. Vodafone Essar, India’s 3rd largest mobile company has an average yearly growth of 13.7%.

Synopsis: Interview with Mr. Brajesh Bajpai, Business Head, Vodafone (Assam & North East)

Q. How is the response of customers in Assam & North East?

A. Quite Good. Vodafone subscriber base has reached 2 million after launching service in September 2008. Vodafone service is available in all parts of Assam. At present Vodafone services is launched in 192 cities of Assam & North East.

Q. Can you tell about Vodafone 3G services?

A.  Vodafone will soon start 3G service in Assam. With this subscribers can avail the facilities of Video calling, high speed gaming and high speed internet.

Q. Can you brief about your future planning in North East?

A. Vodafone has been providing services for over 30 months and we have different strategies in our hand so that we can proceed further from strength to strength. Specifically we are focusing on rural areas of the region.  

Q. Why should a subscriber choose Vodafone?

A. Vodafone provides better service at low cost, that’s why subscribers are attracted to taking our service. In addition the network service of Vodafone in Assam is much better.

Beyond borders

From: The Business Standard

Beyond borders

Preeti Khicha / Mumbai June 6, 2011, 0:48 IST

For Marico, going global is more than a means of opening up new avenues of growth
In roughly 13 months, between January 2010 and February 2011, fast moving consumer goods company Marico has snapped up four international acquisitions — which include brand Code 10 (Malaysia), Derma Rx (in Singapore via wholly-owned subsidiary Kaya Ltd), Ingwe in South Africa, and an 85 per cent stake in International Consumer Products Corporation (ICP) of Vietnam. That’s one new addition every three months or so.

For Marico — which started its journey as Bombay Oil Industries in a traditional commodity-driven business — going global is not just a means of opening up new avenues of growth but also an opportunity for cross-border learning. That, in part, explains the shopping spree, and the amazing growth of its International Business Group (IBG). With a footprint in West Asia, North Africa, South Africa, Bangladesh, Malaysia and now Vietnam, the division has grown from Rs 96 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 734 crore in 2010-11.
Today, Marico’s international business fetches almost a quarter of the group’s revenues estimated at Rs 3,300 crore for 2010-11, thanks to a judicious mix of organic (two-thirds of the IBG’s revenues) and inorganic growth. The Mumbai-headquartered company started off by exporting its flagship coconut oil Parachute brand across the subcontinent and in West Asia in the early 1990s, though its real foray as a serious investor overseas happened more recently, in 2000 in Bangladesh, when it set up a manufacturing facility for Parachute oil just outside capital Dhaka. Bangladesh brings in the lion’s share of IBG’s revenues at over 50 per cent, with West Asia (currently present in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Yemen, Sudan and the Levant region) bringing in another 30 per cent. The balance is contributed by the other geographies where Marico has a footprint, namely, Egypt, South Africa, Malaysia and Vietnam.
These acquisitions have also brought more than six new brands under the Marico umbrella, significantly adding to the company’s international offerings that comprised only one brand (Parachute) till about 2005. However, the company’s revenue mix is still extremely dependent on Parachute (hair care) and Saffola (edible oil), its top grossers, which together bring in close to 60 per cent of Marico’s overall revenues, points out Swati Gupta, senior research analyst (institutional clients), AC Choksi Share Brokers.
Marico has 14 production units overseas, seven owned and seven based on the contract manufacturing model. Last month, the company announced that it will set its eighth plant in Bangladesh at an investment of Rs 35 crore.
Marico is well aware that to take the next step towards being a global conglomerate, it will have to leverage its acquisitions well. “Going forward, we want to grow both in width and in depth,” says Vijay Subramanium, CEO (international business), Marico. “In terms of depth, the company wants to consolidate in the current geographies, introduce value-added offerings and gain scale. In terms of width, the company will continue to expand through organic and inorganic routes,” he adds.

In sum, Marico’s international expansion rests on three pivots — one, capitalising on the strengths of its acquisitions in categories such as hair care, healthcare (termed as nourishment franchise) and male grooming. Two, concentrating on emerging markets of Asia and Africa. Three, cross-pollinating products across geographies. Brajesh Bajpai, vice-president (sales and marketing), Vodafone who once spearheaded Marico’s Egypt and West Asia operations, adds, “The Marico stock is less affected now by factors like lack of demand and supply chain pressures in India.”

From the looks of it, Marico is looking at segments growing quickly and where penetration is low. In India, Parachute and Saffola have tried many brand extensions; not all have been successful. Says Shirish Pardeshi, co-head, research, Anand Rathi Financial Services, “There is a limit to how much more these brands can grow. It is wise that Marico is building a strong product pipeline abroad. In the future, the company could explore the possibility of bringing back these brands to India.”

Likewise, other FMCG majors such as Dabur, Godrej and Emami have also tried to de-risk their domestic operations by following the Indian diaspora to markets of West Asia, South East Asia, and parts of Africa. Dabur, for instance, has manufacturing units in Bangladesh, Nepal, Egypt, Nigeria and the UAE. The company recently announced its decision to bring to India its Hobby brand, which came under its fold during the Turkish acquisition of Hobi Kozmetik. On its part, Godrej is estimated to have spent $600 million on acquisitions over the years and owns brands such as Cuticura, Erasmic, Adorn, Nulon, Apri, thanks to the buy-out of Keyline Brands of the UK in 2005, and the home care, personal wash and hair care portfolio of Megasari (Indonesia) following its acquisition last year.

Top Thirteen Lessons for Me from WC 2011

Well it all started on Feb 18th 2011 and hasn't ended on 2nd April.... Each one of us has connected with this WC in a unique manner. Here are my Top Thirteen Lessons from this WC....

1. Visualize Your Success in Advance. You always win twice, first in the mind's eye and then for real. This team started visualizing playing in the WC finals one year back at Dambulla (well Aug 27th , 2010 to be precise) & Pady Upton was the man who created that vision for the first time.  

2. Speak Less Do More. Calmness is a virtue which isn't valued much nowadays. Calmness, Dignity & Poise make character shine, and thanks to Sehwag for bringing them back in fashion.  Can we ever forget him getting down from the team bus whistling ?  and then an hour later brutally spanking Umar Gul to all parts of the park.

3. Do it for team and not for your-self. Difficult one to believe, but more often when a team starts to do it for other members the glory that comes ones way is unbelievable. We will all remember the quote of the final "He has carried the nation's hope on his shoulders for 21st years, time we carried him on ours" Kohli you beauty.

4. Acknowledge Self's Mistakes and Team's Success. Every member of team throughout the campaign kept on talking about where he could improve individually and how others were doing great collectively.  

5. Each Member’s Contribution is Critical for Team’s Success.  It could boil down to Nehra or Raina or Chawla or even Sreesanth. Once given to you that is your team, one can’t always have a say in that. However one can show undying and unwavering faith in your team members and that’s how a Nehra v/s SA can turn into the best bowler v/s Pakistan.

6. When a Team Member is Down, Don't Forget Him. In today's dog eat dog world, who carries the can for any-one’s failure. But remember when your team member is down, that's when he needs you and the team most.  And don’t worry he will remember it and will pay you back - Yuvi's Story will be part of sporting folklore for many decades. 

7. Even the Best can't do it Without the Right Team. One word - Sachin !

8. Scraping is Just as Beautiful. Beautiful and sublime has no meaning if it isn't effective and purposeful, wonder how many will remember Mahela's sublime innings. It is Ghambhir's scraping, fighting, chancy and dirty innings which was more valued. Some time it is just too easy to throw it away , but team values every scrap that’s done for a larger cause.

9. Importance of Back-room Boys. Greg v/s Gary , need I say more. It was so emotional to see the masseur of the team holding and posing with the cup in the dressing room. The image of support staff in red shirts forming a chain behind team blue’s victory lap signifies the foundation role of these man with few words and lots of hard work.

10. Remember The Contributions of the Past Members – The team pulled Kumble in the dressing room celebrations, Yuvi remembered Saurav’s contribution to his life at the most important press conference. In today’s world when most people are busy garnering all for themselves, it was nice to see this team remember past contributors with humbleness.

11. Lead from the Front. Of course it is risky, so was coming at no.5. Of course you will be criticized ,so was not picking Ashwin, Of course you will be tense, so was facing the best bowler of all times, Of course you will have self doubts, Of course it’s for all or nothing ... but that's the only way to be crowned the best Caption in Modern Cricket - Mahi you are the Man. 

12. Once Done, Let Go of the Emotions. – That’s the time to bare it all to the world.  Yuvraj, Sachin, Bhajji, Gary in tears will remain etched in our collective memories for ever. Also important to let those emotions flow so as to close the successful chapter and look forward.  After all life’s a journey is it not :-)

13. Remembering The Ordinary Man who is behind it all – Every cricketing fan in this world should hold the moment dear when Sachin called Sudhir Gautam (the man who paints himself in tri-colors and supports SRT with a Conch at every match) and posed with him holding the World Cup. In the bright light of super stars it is easy to forget the fans who make it real.

and the FB link is given below :-Top Thirteen Lessons from WC 2011

Marketing 3.0- A Key to Sustainability and Profitability at IMI, Delhi

From Cool Avenues

International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi, organized Srijan’10, Annual Marketing Summit on 27th and 28th of August 2010. This year’s theme was “Marketing 3.0- A Key to Sustainability and Profitability". The theme portrays the future of marketing, a “value centric approach” where the consumers are perceived by marketers’ not as mere customers but as the complex, multi-dimensional human beings with emotions. A plethora of events such as case studies, panel discussions and presentations were conducted around this theme which is predicted to sweep over the marketing world.


Spread over 2 days and 5 sessions the conclave saw stalwarts from the industry descending at IMI to share their experiences and ideas on consumer insights, co creation of brands, ecosystem marketing, rising power of social media and how Indian business houses are poised for the future of marketing. The inaugural session was graced by Dr. U. D. Choubey (Director General, Scope and Former CMD GAIL) and Mr. Shoeb Ahmed (Director (Commercial), SAIL) who spoke on changing face of PSU’s (Public Sector Undertakings). A panel discussion consisting of Mr. Manoj Dawane (Head Sales and Marketing Ericsson India), Mr. Rajul Mathur (Client Services Director, Grant Thornton India), Mr. Sumit Sehgal (Corporate Vice President, Marketing, Max New York Life), Mr. Nitin Pandey (Head-XCEED Marketing, iDiscoveri Education Pvt. Ltd.) and Mr. Asitava Sen (Director, Business Consulting Services, The Nielsen Company) deliberated on what marketing 3.0 is all about and if at all is it different from traditional marketing trends. Ms. Vitika Banerjee (GM – Consumer Marketing, Strategy & New Business Development, Philips Electronics), Mr. Brajesh Bajpai ( Vice President, Vodafone) and Mr. Anshul Punhani (Head, Marketing, Videocon Mobiles) shared how marketers today are co creating brands with the customer and how real consumer insights can help business grow and sustain profitability in long term . A stand alone session by Mr. Kensaku Konishi (President & CEO, Canon India Ltd) enlightened the audience on how Canon India had undertaken efforts to reach out to the length and breadth of India and establish market leadership.


Mr. Subodh Vardhan (Director- Sales & Business Head, Government & Enterprise Sector, Motorola), Mr. Subrat Padhi(COO (Haryana Circle), Vodafone), Mr. Avik Chattopadhyay( MD, Saffron Brand Consultants), Mr. Satish Kataria(MD, Springboard Ventures Pvt. Ltd.) and Mr. Ravindra Sewak(Country Director, Safe Water Network) shared insights on ecosystem marketing. Mr. Vikramaditya Sharma (Head, Business Development and National Sales, News Website, Hindustan Times) shared ideas on social media marketing along with Mr. Abhishek Kant (Community Program Manager, Microsoft) and Mr. Saurabh Pandey (Director- E Commerce (Jobs), Ibibo). Enhancing Consumption: Imbibing Desire Within was a topic addressed by Mr. Sanjay Thapar( Group President(North and East),Ogilvy and Mather), Mr. Saurabh Gupta (Regional Executive Officer, Etisalat) and Mr. Ashwani Kumar(Principal Technologist Packaging Graphics and Design, ITC Limited) who discussed on different ways to increase consumption in existing consumers.

Finally Srijan’10 ended with the valedictory session graced by Mr. Raju Vaziraney (COO, Radico Khaitan Ltd) and Mr. Ravi Sinha (Director, Client Development, Mercer).They spoke about branding, trends in consumption and how “being green” is the way going forward for marketers to establish connect with the consumers of future. SRIJAN 2010 ended on a positive note and reiterated that the Indian consumer is now ever more intelligent and Marketing 3.0 is indeed the key to the future but it will be long before traditional marketing loses its flavour.

Interview with Brajesh Bajpai in Insight Magazine - Egypt

Keynote Speaker at IMT, Dubai

From Pagalguy.com

Institute of Management Technology, Dubai: Marketing on Fire in the Middle East

“Job of a marketer is to understand the consumer, not to be rigid about his beliefs” said Dr Mohan Agarwal, Professor, marketing of the Institute of Management Technology Dubai inaugurated ‘Marketing on Fire- Consumer Trends in the Middle East, Challenges and Opportunities’ on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at the IMT campus at the Dubai International Academic City. Marketing on Fire is an initiative by the student members of the Marketing Excellence Network (MEN) under the leadership of Dr Agarwal. The summit was attended by eminent faces of the corporate world, faculty and students of IMT Dubai.

The speakers on the occasion were Nidal Abou Zaki, managing Director, Orient Planet PR and Marketing; Brajesh Bajpai, Head, MENA region-Marico Industries, U.A.E and Ricky Husaini, the Chief Investment Officer, DARE, U.A.E

The conference began with the stimulus presentation by the IMT on the ‘Consumer Behaviour of the Local versus Overseas Students of the U.A.E’ by the marketing students at IMT. The research summarized the shopping patterns, and survey results to reveal the mindsets of students studying in the U.A.E

Each of the keynote speakers spoke about their experiences of working in the Middle East and questioned, criticized and appreciated the methods of understanding consumer behavior. They discussed most popular trends in the Gulf, demographics and other characteristics.

This event was preceded by the immense success of “Marketing on Fire – Trends in the Gulf” earlier in February 2009

Business - Maktoob - 11 Jun

From Maktoob - Business and AMEInfo

No 1 Hair styling brand in Egypt “Haircode” goes for a makeover

June 11, 2009

Country:

UAE

Client(s):

Marico

Haircode, a brand synonymous with hair-styling across Egypt, relaunched today. The Hair styling expert that entered the mid-end segment few years back has re-invented itself in a brand new avatar with superior product offering for the Style-conscious Arab men. Relaunch in Egypt has coincided with brand launch in Gulf & Levant Region.

Marico, company which owns Haircode trademark, has been working on this relaunch for over 1 year now. Current brand look & feel is result of extensive research across the region.

Speaking about the Relaunch, Mr. Brajesh Bajpai, Regional Director MENA Region, Marico says, “I am delighted to announce yet another milestone in the Hair code’s growth story in Egypt. New Packaging changeover across the Haircode brand franchise. Relaunch is currently being supported by high decibel above the line advertising. New look will make brand more younger, modern & stylish”

Mr. Mohamed Wasfy, Creative Director DDB Egypt commented, “A New Code of Attraction is the campaign concept that was inspired by the brand name and also carries the brand promise offering a higher level of attraction through its functional benefits. The copy is built around insightful situations portraying the sacrifices that are willingly being made for the sake of grabbing a Hair Code user’s attention”

Though the campaign is largely TV led, Mr. Abhishek Ahluwalia, Head Marketing, Marico Egypt added it will also be extended to other medium & supported by massive consumer activation. This campaign will be aired popular satellite channels starting from 2nd week of June and will run till end of July.

Company Information

About Marico:-

Marico is a leading Indian Group in Consumer Products and Services in the Global Beauty and Wellness space. Marico’s products and services in the Hair Care, Skin Care and Healthy Foods generated a turnover of over USD 450m in the financial year 2007-08.

Marico markets well known brands around the world in more than 25 countries. Marico’s brands and their extensions occupy leadership positions with significant market shares in most of their categories. Marico is present in Skin Care solutions through Kaya Skin Clinics (70 in India and the Middle East) and its soap franchise (in India and other Asian countries).

In Egypt, Marico enjoys leadership position in the hair care space with over 60% market share in hairstyling category. Both its brands (Hair Code and Fiancée) are well known in the local Egyptian market and are also exported to neighboring Arab countries. Hair Code is the Number 1 Gel brand in its category and is used by many consumers. While Fiancée is the number 1 Gel Cream brand, which offers the twin benefits of nourishment and styling through its unique product, Fiancée 2x1 Gel Cream.

For more information, please Visit our corporate web site: www.marico.com & brand website www.haircodeworld.com.

GAT March/April 2009 | Foreign Trade

From the German Arab Chamber of Industry & Commerce - GAT Magazine

By Anjana Das

President Mubarak’s visit to New Delhi last November, after more than 25 years, was heralded as a milestone in the bilateral relationship between Egypt and India.

Speaking at a joint press conference, leaders of both countries agreed to ‘make up for lost time’ and set forth an ambitious trade target of USD 10 billion by 2010. Current bilateral trade between Egypt and India is about USD 3.5 billion. So what is bringing on this renewed interest?

Hoping to leverage India’s pacts with its South East Asian neighbours, Egypt is keen to maintain India as one of its top trading partners.

“India is viewed by Egyptian policy makers as a target country for attracting foreign investment,” reckons A. Gopinathan, Indian ambassador to Egypt who accompanied the delegation to India.

Indian investments, estimated to be USD 750 million currently, could increase to about USD 2 billion by 2011, if Egypt gives the green light to some of the projects under consideration.

Trade History
Egypt’s foreign policy with respect to India goes back to ancient times. A Hindu text from 300 BC mentions Emperor Ashoka’s contact with Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt and the exchange of ambassadors.

A more definitive indication of the ties between the two nations is evident in the letters exchanged between Mostafa El Nahas and Jawaharlal Nehru in the late 1930s, both compatriots in the fight for freedom. The warmth continued till Gamal Abdel Nasser’s time, after which relations remained cordial but distant.

India’s sustained growth
A young and vibrant population, a potential 1 billion people to sell to, the buying power of its rising middle class in addition to the government’s reforms liberalizing the economy opened the market to foreign companies. Even now, as the rest of the world is reeling from the recession, India’s growth is expected to remain stable at 7% from an average 8.5% it was maintaining for the last five years. What made the growth sustainable was that India diversified its industries to include manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, automobile manufacturing or information technology (IT).

There are challenges still facing India, such as the overwhelming majority that live in poverty and the infrastructure and labour market that need to keep pace with the current growth. But the success at home brought about a new breed of entrepreneurs daring to venture beyond India’s borders, braving risks to acquire, invest or partner in joint ventures.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s government launched massive economic reforms in 2004 to promote Egypt as an investor-friendly destination. It seems to have worked. In the last five years or so Indian investments have climbed quite dramatically, notes Ambassador Gopinathan. “By 2011 you will see a billion dollars just by one (Sanmar) group,” he adds.

The Birla Group’s Alexandria Carbon Black was one of India’s first investments in Egypt that started operation in 1994. Today it exports 93% of its products, earning USD 100 million in foreign exchange for Egypt. In 2006, the same group invested another USD 70 million for an acrylic plant in Alexandria that employs 250 people in its factory.

Another sector that saw massive investment from India was the garment and textile industry. Among the leading Indian companies that have set up subsidiaries are Embee, Velocity and Cleopatra employing 500-1000 workers each in factories in Ismailia, Cairo and Alexandria.

Egypt’s investment laws provide a direct import benefit of 10-12% on goods imported, says one Indian garment exporter. Garments exported to US and Europe escape any duties because of the QIZ and EU trade pacts making them very competitive in price. India is the largest importer of raw cotton and cotton yarn from Egypt while the latter’s export of man-made fibres has also grown 30% annually for four years, till 2006.

Across segments
Several companies including Asian Paints and Marico India have made Egypt their success stories.

“I call it the centre of the world,” says Brajesh Bajpai, Regional Head, Middle East and North Africa for Marico, an Indian, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) producer. “In Africa, part of Gulf and easy access to southern Europe, which country has such a great advantage?” asks Bajpai. Marico’s hair care products control 60% of the market share in Egypt today.

Egypt currently exports USD 2.1 billion to India of which 95% is oil and gas, while Egypt’s imports from India, a little over USD 1 billion, have traditionally been cotton yarn, rice, meat and tea. When seen in the context of India’s total exports (USD 200 billion), the trade basket with Egypt may seem small. What is interesting is that there is a right product mix in the bilateral trade.

Last year Mahindra & Mahindra flagged off its 4X4 vehicle, Scorpio in Egypt and is believed to be popular among Egyptians for its price. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism has achieved tremendous success in promoting Egypt as a tourism destination in India attracting 100,000 Indians last year.

Under the direction of Dr Tarek Kamel, Minister for Communications and IT, Egypt, saw merit in attracting Indian software companies like Wipro and Satyam to the country. Companies setting up operations in the Smart Village were offered rental and training subsidies between 85-100%, as well as optimum infrastructure and an inexhaustible pool of Arabic-speaking computer graduates. Indian companies could help stage Egypt in the international market as a popular destination for IT outsourcing and develop the industry in the long term.

But for all the rhetoric, ground realities could be better. Following the signing of COMESA, Egypt levied a 30% duty on Indian tea. Imports fell dramatically until a recent agreement by Egypt was made to reduce the import tariff to 5%. Similarly, it was only after persistent efforts by the Indian consulate that Egypt restarted its import of beef.

Paying closer attention
Obviously it is important for companies to do their homework carefully. “I am struck by the fact that Indian businessmen do not seem to be aware of the requirements and potential of the Egypt business and industry; similarly Egyptian industrialists do not seem to be aware of the capabilities acquired by Indians over the past two decades,” notes Ambassador Gopinathan.

Clearly, one of the ways to understand these ground realities would be for visiting delegations to carry out real time research. The commercial wing of the Indian embassy can assist by putting businessmen in touch with the Egyptian trade and industry associations, as well as businessmen when requested. The good news is that both countries have decided to move from politics to economics.

Germans upbeat on India
Back in 2004, when German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder set a target of EUR 10 billion for 2009 for Indo-German bilateral trade, little did he know it would be achieved three years ahead of schedule. In 2006, not only did German exports to India reach EUR 5.1 billion but the trade surplus of EUR 2 billion has been in Germany’s favour.

Textiles, leather, pharmaceuticals and electro-technical products made up the bulk of India’s exports to Germany while machinery made up one-third of Indian imports from Germany. The Indo-German relations go beyond trade and investment and to the transfer of technology.

Almost 2,500 Indian firms are doing business in Germany, of which two-thirds is in IT, while the rest are engaged in textiles, engineering, pharmaceuticals and automobiles. India’s Tata Consultancy Services entered into an agreement to jointly research and develop telecom products at Nokia-Siemens in Dusseldorf. Biocon, a premier biotechnology company in India acquired a 70% stake in German AxiCorp which will enable it to sell pharmaceutical products in Germany as well as Europe.

In April, 2008, Volkswagen announced it was increasing its investment in India by 40% to EUR 580 million. The addition was to go for the Fabia hatchback model. India’s small-car market is a fast growing sector and automakers hope to take advantage of the opportunities by increasing their investing.

Volkswagen’s premium brand Audi is also assembling the A6 and A4 models in India. Other German automakers invested in India are Daimler and BMW with the latest buzz that Porsche plans to start assembly in India too.

Business Today Egypt - February 2009 - Indian Summer

The Cover Story of this months Business Today Egypt
was Indian Summer.

Brajesh was interviewed for this feature and quoted as follows:

Looking Beyond IT

Egypt seemed the most ideal location when India was looking for a manufacturing base in Africa for its hair care products in 2006.

“I call it the center of the world,” says Brajesh Bajpai, Marico’s Middle East and North Africa head. “In Africa [and the Middle East] and [with] easy access to southern Europe; which country has such great advantage?” he asks.

In addition to the excellent location, the low cost of manpower, the lower cost of operating a factory including power and fuel and the size of the domestic market, the Egyptian government’s support toward foreign investment was very encouraging.

“GAFI [the General Authority for Free Zones and Investments] was extremely helpful right from acquiring the land to getting all the required permissions and facilities at the factory place. In fact, I would define the response of government as best in world category, with a great customer oriented approach on all issues,” reveals Bajpai.

Soon after Marico acquired two of Egypt’s leading hair care brands, Haircode and Fiancée, its market share rose to 60%. Marico continued to invest not only in the acquisitions, but also in manufacturing facilities, advertising brands, training people and setting up processes along with vendors.

Before the end of 2008, Marico had announced the opening of its third manufacturing plant in Sadat City. At full capacity, it is expected to churn out 10 million liters of cream and oil every year, enough to grease more than just the domestic market.

Marico is now looking at North Africa, southern Europe and Gulf markets hoping to exploit Egypt’s preferential trade agreements, namely with COMESA, EU and Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) countries, respectively. The continued lowering of import duties from Europe will help Marico source raw materials at more competitive prices. In addition, all members of GAFTA will be able to take advantage of the reduction in import duties.

Marico’s operations in Egypt employ about 500 people and are estimated to benefit more than 1,000 Egyptians indirectly in terms of job opportunities.

You can read the entire article here.