India: A Poor Investment?
January 2, 2012By Blessings s. Makanani

As the global recession continues, Ajay Piramal of Mumbai, India is sitting on a mountain of cash. Surprisingly, the billionaire Indian tycoon is struggling to decide what to do with his money. The problem, he says, is that with every large investment, there is no transparency in India.


Corruption, evidenced by log-jammed approvals, and shifting government policies have frustrated and prompted many people who made their billions in the country to flee India.


In May 2010, Piramal's healthcare business sold its generic drug operations to U.S. pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories for $3.8 billion. When he wanted to expand one of his chemical plants in India, he was told it would take five years. He argued that the same plant could be set up in China in just two years.


According to central bank figures, it is not a surprise that by the beginning of 2010, the amount that Indians have invested in businesses overseas has exceeded the collective amount of foreigners investing in the country.


Jamshyd Godrej, chairman of manufacturing giant Godrej & Boyce claims "if you are an honest businessman in India, it's very difficult to start up anything" - a statement which has caused many to question his own scruples.


Piramal still has a one million square-foot office park in Mumbai built by his family. The buildings around him [white with blue glass] bear his own name in hefty black letters: Piramal Towers. Each room in his executive suite is named after an Indian hero. His stake is now worth over US$3.8 billion.


But, where to invest next?


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