Mallya loves a spirited fight
Reading your cover story Fighting the Bad Times (BT, December 14), the most striking impression one gets is of Vijay Mallya being a spirited fighter.
Reading your cover story Fighting the Bad Times (BT, December 14), the most striking impression one gets is of Vijay Mallya being a spirited fighter. Making heavy weather of his business setbacks—howsoever intractable they might seem at the moment—is not Mallya’s wont. He has given ample proof of his formidable business acumen in the past and going by his record there’s no reason to believe why Mallya can’t prevail over his present difficulties.
—Arvind Panigrahi, through e-mail
A fighter all the way
There’s no doubting that Vijay Mallya is not one to shy away from taking bold decisions. His critics should know that he can make shrewd, calculated or even unconventional moves to promote his business interests. The way he gobbled up Air Deccan and the manner in which he pulled off the operational and strategic alliance with Jet Airways speaks of his business acuity and his ability to carry out deft manoeuvres. Some Doubting Thomases may be inclined to take his assertion to wipe out his aviation losses in three years with a pinch of salt. But, given his track record and mettle, I see no reason to doubt why Mallya cannot take Kingfisher out of the red and help it ride out the current storm.
—Jatin Sarcar, through e-mail
Valuable companies
Reading your well-researched cover story BT 500—India’s Most Valuable Companies (BT, November 30), it comes across loud and clear that many top profit-making Indian companies (Top 10 profit-earners in BT 500) are at a par with the best performing companies globally. Big, profit-making Indian companies may count for too few compared to profit-minting companies in the US. But they still account for a sizeable chunk of India’s economic wealth. Also, one should not lose sight of the fact that India’s economy will continue to grow and prosper till such time that its top valuable companies keep growing and making profits.
—Jugal Kishore, through e-mail
Responding to the meltdown
Are we going over the top in our reactions to the US-led global financial meltdown (The Meltdown Impact, BT, November 16)? Unlike the Americans and west Europeans, who are addicted to spending extravagantly and living beyond their means, Indians are quite used to the virtues of thrift and simple lifestyles. So, it doesn’t behove us to press the panic buttons if we are required to tone down our lifestyles in times of adversity.
—Charu Shah, through e-mail
In Obama we trust
The 47-Year-old Chicago’S former Democratic Senator’s victory over John McCain has inspired many hopes and expectations (Decoding Obamanomics, November 28). One hopes that under Obama’s watch relations between India and the US will become more broad-based and pronounced.
—Vinod C. Dixit, through e-mail
Corrections
In BT 500–India’s most valuable Companies (BT, November 30), Petronet LNG Limited has been ranked 32 in India’s most valuable PSUs in 2008. However, the company spokesperson informs that Petronet is not a PSU, but a JV—a private limited company promoted by four Navratna companies having total equity participation of 50 per cent (12.5 per cent each) only. The balance equity is held by Gaz deFrance (I), ADB and the public. However, CMIE, whose database is used to prepare the BT-500 list, categorises Petronet as a PSU.
According to the GMR spokesperson, the figures of the company attributed in the tables in BT-500 list (other than market cap) are not correct. We wish to clarify that, as with all the companies in the list, we have taken into consideration only GMR’s stand alone numbers and not its consolidated numbers. The only exception is Cairn India, in which case, there’s a footnote to explain why we used consolidated figures.
—Arvind Panigrahi, through e-mail
A fighter all the way
There’s no doubting that Vijay Mallya is not one to shy away from taking bold decisions. His critics should know that he can make shrewd, calculated or even unconventional moves to promote his business interests. The way he gobbled up Air Deccan and the manner in which he pulled off the operational and strategic alliance with Jet Airways speaks of his business acuity and his ability to carry out deft manoeuvres. Some Doubting Thomases may be inclined to take his assertion to wipe out his aviation losses in three years with a pinch of salt. But, given his track record and mettle, I see no reason to doubt why Mallya cannot take Kingfisher out of the red and help it ride out the current storm.
—Jatin Sarcar, through e-mail
Valuable companies
Reading your well-researched cover story BT 500—India’s Most Valuable Companies (BT, November 30), it comes across loud and clear that many top profit-making Indian companies (Top 10 profit-earners in BT 500) are at a par with the best performing companies globally. Big, profit-making Indian companies may count for too few compared to profit-minting companies in the US. But they still account for a sizeable chunk of India’s economic wealth. Also, one should not lose sight of the fact that India’s economy will continue to grow and prosper till such time that its top valuable companies keep growing and making profits.
—Jugal Kishore, through e-mail
Responding to the meltdown
Are we going over the top in our reactions to the US-led global financial meltdown (The Meltdown Impact, BT, November 16)? Unlike the Americans and west Europeans, who are addicted to spending extravagantly and living beyond their means, Indians are quite used to the virtues of thrift and simple lifestyles. So, it doesn’t behove us to press the panic buttons if we are required to tone down our lifestyles in times of adversity.
—Charu Shah, through e-mail
In Obama we trust
The 47-Year-old Chicago’S former Democratic Senator’s victory over John McCain has inspired many hopes and expectations (Decoding Obamanomics, November 28). One hopes that under Obama’s watch relations between India and the US will become more broad-based and pronounced.
—Vinod C. Dixit, through e-mail
Corrections
In BT 500–India’s most valuable Companies (BT, November 30), Petronet LNG Limited has been ranked 32 in India’s most valuable PSUs in 2008. However, the company spokesperson informs that Petronet is not a PSU, but a JV—a private limited company promoted by four Navratna companies having total equity participation of 50 per cent (12.5 per cent each) only. The balance equity is held by Gaz deFrance (I), ADB and the public. However, CMIE, whose database is used to prepare the BT-500 list, categorises Petronet as a PSU.
According to the GMR spokesperson, the figures of the company attributed in the tables in BT-500 list (other than market cap) are not correct. We wish to clarify that, as with all the companies in the list, we have taken into consideration only GMR’s stand alone numbers and not its consolidated numbers. The only exception is Cairn India, in which case, there’s a footnote to explain why we used consolidated figures.
How to contact Business Today
Editor, Business Today, Videocon Tower, 5th Floor, E-1, Jhandewalan Extension,
New Delhi—110055.
E-mail: letters.bt@intoday.com
Website: https://www.businesstoday.in/
Unsolicited articles will not be returned or acknowledged
For subscription assistance write to:
Customer Care, India Today Group, A-61, Sector-57,
Noida (U.P.) — 201 301
Phone: (95120) 2479900 from
Delhi & Faridabad; (0120) 2479900
(Monday-Friday; 10 am-6 pm)
from Rest of India;
Toll free no. 1800 1800 100
(from BSNL/ MTNL Lines);
Fax: (0120) 4078080
E-mail: wecarebg@intoday.com
