Tata blasts govt for failing to take lessons from past
Sunday, 30 November 2008
From Fazle Rashid
NEW YORK, Nov 29: Ratan Tata, icon of India's corporate world and the owner of the century old luxury Taj Mahal hotel which was under the terrorist siege blasted the Congress-led Union government of India for its pathetic failure in taking lessons from the past terrorists attacks on Indian soil. India experienced a series of the terrorists attacks this year but none was as fearsome and devastating as one in Mumbai last Wednesday.
The business leaders stood behind Tata in strongly urging the Union government to take immediate measures to protect the financial institutions if Mumbai were to hold its status as one of the ten most important commercial hubs of the world. It was still not clear what long term impact the recent attacks will have on Indian economy. Many fear that the flow of foreign business will suffer a huge dent.
Mumbai is known as the " maximum city " for its unbriddled growth of fortune seekers, clogged traffic, and two extremes of wealth and poverty. Business has come to a total halt. Many fear that the terrorist attack will spark a communal frenzy.
Tata conglomerate is going through a lean patch. It failed to set up a motor plant in West Bengal and its investments in Bangladesh hit a snag.. The company issued a warning that it faces difficulties raising capitals due to global financial crisis and announced slamming a brake on its international expansion.
Ratan Tata said the absence of a crisis infrastructure left the innocent people and the economy unprotected from attacks designed to destroy investors confidence. Mumbai has a population exceeding 20 million. Meanwhile, Bangladesh remains the only country in the world which has not been rattled by the global economic meltdown. The regional nations and contiguous states are facing a torrid time. Worried by continual decline Japan fears it may not be far away from a deflation. South Korea turned into a nation of debtor for the first time in eight years with banks and companies borrowing from outside sources. Taiwan which also had a vibrant economy is far from comfortable now.
Malaysia, where a large Bangladeshi labour-force is employed, announced a steep fall in its economic growth. The pace of growth has been the slowest since 2005. Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) will fall to 4.7 per cent from earlier projection of 6.7 percent. Pakistan is passing through its worst economic crisis since 1947. India's growth rate has also recorded a fall. But Finance Ministers of both Malaysia and India have predicted that their economies will bounce back to high growth rate in 2009, a claim not accepted by the market watchers and analysts.
Thailand, another regional country painted a gloomy picture for an economy that depends on exports for 70 per cent of its annual income.
NEW YORK, Nov 29: Ratan Tata, icon of India's corporate world and the owner of the century old luxury Taj Mahal hotel which was under the terrorist siege blasted the Congress-led Union government of India for its pathetic failure in taking lessons from the past terrorists attacks on Indian soil. India experienced a series of the terrorists attacks this year but none was as fearsome and devastating as one in Mumbai last Wednesday.
The business leaders stood behind Tata in strongly urging the Union government to take immediate measures to protect the financial institutions if Mumbai were to hold its status as one of the ten most important commercial hubs of the world. It was still not clear what long term impact the recent attacks will have on Indian economy. Many fear that the flow of foreign business will suffer a huge dent.
Mumbai is known as the " maximum city " for its unbriddled growth of fortune seekers, clogged traffic, and two extremes of wealth and poverty. Business has come to a total halt. Many fear that the terrorist attack will spark a communal frenzy.
Tata conglomerate is going through a lean patch. It failed to set up a motor plant in West Bengal and its investments in Bangladesh hit a snag.. The company issued a warning that it faces difficulties raising capitals due to global financial crisis and announced slamming a brake on its international expansion.
Ratan Tata said the absence of a crisis infrastructure left the innocent people and the economy unprotected from attacks designed to destroy investors confidence. Mumbai has a population exceeding 20 million. Meanwhile, Bangladesh remains the only country in the world which has not been rattled by the global economic meltdown. The regional nations and contiguous states are facing a torrid time. Worried by continual decline Japan fears it may not be far away from a deflation. South Korea turned into a nation of debtor for the first time in eight years with banks and companies borrowing from outside sources. Taiwan which also had a vibrant economy is far from comfortable now.
Malaysia, where a large Bangladeshi labour-force is employed, announced a steep fall in its economic growth. The pace of growth has been the slowest since 2005. Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) will fall to 4.7 per cent from earlier projection of 6.7 percent. Pakistan is passing through its worst economic crisis since 1947. India's growth rate has also recorded a fall. But Finance Ministers of both Malaysia and India have predicted that their economies will bounce back to high growth rate in 2009, a claim not accepted by the market watchers and analysts.
Thailand, another regional country painted a gloomy picture for an economy that depends on exports for 70 per cent of its annual income.