Shoppers’ Stop
India Inc went on a veritable shopping spree in 2006, buying companies, flaunting its financial clout, and daring to dream beyond national boundaries. Indians went gaga over steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal’s takeover ofArcelor, forgetting that he lives in London and has his headquarters in the Netherlands. That he has an Indian passport sufficed for celebration. Then came the announcement on the $8 bn TataSteel-Corus deal. This was one of the 14 such deals the Tata group inked over 2005-2006. There was much fanfare till CSN outbid them and queered the pitch. Indian firms spent $4.3 billion in 2005 on overseas deals, the figure crossed the $15 billion-mark this year. Videocon acquired Daewoo Electronics, Wipro bought three US-based companies, Ranbaxy took over Romania’sTerapia...and the party ain’t over yet.
Meanwhile,
Things remained bitter between the Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil as well, in the aftermath of the split that occurred a year ago. Accusations by the two Reliance factions came thick and fast as the brothers continued their efforts to trump each other.
Also during the year:
Jan 12: Government sells 8 per cent of its stake in Maruti Udyog
Jan 24: Government opens up the retail sector to FDI
Feb 10: Government rings in One India plan—BSNL, MTNL offer domestic long-distance calls at Re 1 per minute
Mar 20: Verghese Kurien resigns as chairman of GCMMF (Amul), Amrita Patel takes over amid acrimony
Apr 29: Celebrated economist and Indophile John Kenneth Galbraith dies, at 97
May 25: Former Enron executives Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay found guilty of lying about the company’s crumbling finance
Jun 16: Software czar Bill Gates announces he is no longer to work full time in Microsoft
Jul 26: Steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal gobbles up rival Arcelor, scoops up 92 per cent stake
Aug 14: Indra Nooyi to take charge of PepsiCo worldwide
Aug 20: N.R. Narayana Murthy hands over Infy reins to Nandan M. Nilekani
Aug 20: Government clears 46 new special economic zones
Oct 10: Google buys YouTube, free videosharing website, described as Invention of the Year by Time
Oct 15: Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian; his brother Anil the third, says Forbes
Nov 16: US economist Milton Friedman dies
Nov 27: Retail giant Wal-Mart rides into India on Bharti’s back
Dec 11: Infosys to appear on Nasdaq 100
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