Intuition. Perception. Perfection.

Fooled me once, Shame on you; Fooled me twice, Shame on me; Fooled me a third time, And in came SEBI.    When it comes to MNCs listed in India, premium valuations, competent managements, surging earnings and good corporate governance are certain hallmarks that define most of them. Exceptions, however, do dot the map, especially as far as that last criterion goes. And one exception just so happens to go by the name of AstraZeneca. All along, the Anglo – Swedish pharmaceutical giant has been more or less a dwarf in the Indian market, with only a small part of its vast drug portfolio being sold in the country. Seeing little purpose in being listed on the Indian markets and in the light of increasingly complex disclosure requirements mandated by SEBI, the company decided to delist in 2004. In its first delisting offer, or the reverse book – built offer, AstraZeneca offered a floor price of Rs. 825 / share, in order to go ahead with its delisting. Its Indian shareholders

     It is steeped in legend that the Chinese Monkey King, Sun Wu Kong, the hero of ‘Journey To The West’, a Chinese classic, was born from a stone egg, impregnated by the wind. He went on to become a disciple of ancient magic, martial arts and Buddhism, before rebelling against the Gods and swallowing the Peaches of Immortality. With invincibility on his side and a portfolio of magical powers at his command, including the ability to cover the length of the earth in a single somersault, he wreaked havoc in the heavens and incensed the Jade Emperor, before being trapped under The Mountain of Five Elements, for over five centuries by the Buddha.      Seeking penance and forgiveness, he agreed to accompany the Buddhist monk, Hsuan Tsang to India, to retrieve the Buddhist scrolls, a story which is now known today as the ‘Journey To The West’. With his shape – shifting powers, ability to cast magic spells and strength to vanquish demons, he was indeed a force to reckon with and prote

     For a certain luxury brand that has clocked well over a decade in India and become one of the most visible brands in its segment, time may have just run out. With its sales growth petering out and profitability nowhere in sight, TAG Heuer, one of the world’s most iconic luxury watch brands and a veritable jewel from the house of LVMH, announced that it is jettisoning its Indian subsidiary and moving to a distributor – based model.      After a decade and a half of trying to crack the complex Indian market, the Swiss horloger has thrown in the towel and decided to wind down its Indian subsidiary. With ballooning losses and a whole host of rival brands jousting for a share of the small, yet growing Indian luxury goods market, TAG Heuer has decided to go in for the less capital – intensive distributor model. What that essentially means is that TAG Heuer is effectively scaling back its investment in India. With the Modi government looking to transform India into a Mecca for fore