Date:30/08/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/08/30/stories/2005083002740200.htm

Back Tata Sons looking to grow in China

Our Bureau

Mr Alan Rosling, Executive Director, Tata Sons Ltd, in Chennai on Monday. — V.Ganesan

Chennai , Aug. 29

TATA Sons Ltd, the holding company of the Tata group, is looking to increasing business of various group companies in China.

With the group's total business in China at about $200 million, "looking forward, can be greater," according to Mr Alan Rosling, Executive Director, Tata Sons Ltd.

A number of Tata companies such as TCS, Tata Steel, Tata International and Voltas have operations in China, either in the form of development centres or sourcing equipment or implementing projects. The group is open to increasing the business in China, according to Mr Rosling.

He told reporters here on Monday that the Tata group's overseas business, which was $4.5 billion in 2004-05, accounting for 24 per cent of the total turnover, is set to grow in the years.

Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of the group, had said that the overseas business should grow to 35 per cent over the next few years.

While declining to put numbers on how much the overseas business would contribute to the group's turnover, Mr Rosling, who looks after the overseas business for the group, said the last two years saw a compounded annual growth rate of 37 per cent and it could be "similar" in the years to come.

Five companies — TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Tea and Indian Hotels — accounted for 90 per cent of the group's overseas business, with TCS alone contributing 40 per cent and Tata Motors and Tata Steel 15 per cent each. In a few years, there might be some more group companies that would globalise their operations. The overseas strategy and the geography to operate in depended on individual companies and the businesses they were in.

The group's overseas operations had been through organic growth, joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions, he said.

More importantly, the group was keen on internationalising its skill sets and also making sure that the nearly 2,000 foreign employees in the group worked effectively in the Indian system.

Mr Rosling said the group companies would look overseas not just for greenfield manufacturing plants but also for sourcing raw material. Tata Steel was investing in Australia for coal mines.

He replied in the affirmative when asked whether Tata Power would also look for a similar arrangement for coal for its power plants.