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 sha...

     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 indee...

     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 tra...

     If you look back into the annals of time, trace a path all the way to the present and dare to peek into the future as well, you’d be surprised to find that no article of clothing has been, is or will be more ubiquitous than the humble shoe. Ever since prehistoric times, Man has always felt the need to protect his feet from everything that Mother Nature could throw at him and ancient cultures, ranging from the Native Americans to the Egyptians and all the way to Ancient China, developed their own forms of primitive footwear. While shoemaking as a trade only picked up speed during the Industrial Revolution, the global footwear market today is pegged at a size of around $190 – 200 billion, clocking a sub – 5% annual growth. While the luxury segment is still a minuscule portion of the entire pie, it is growing in double – digits, with some brands even growing at over 30% - 70% annually, albeit on a small base. Speaking of the luxury footwear industry, names like Jimmy ...

     ‘Too Big To Fail’.       The notion that a financial institution or an organization has assumed a role that is so vital to the health and survival of the economy of a country that its government would go all out to prevent its cessation of business or bankruptcy in order to avoid the resultant aftershocks that would bring the economy to its knees.      In the aftermath of the financial chaos that 2008 unleashed upon the global economy, TBTF was an unflattering, almost loathed title that was slapped onto institutions that governments across the world couldn’t let sink into oblivion, lest the contagion that would result. With economies across the world tumbling, governments had to step in to infuse some confidence into the system and prevent banks from going bust. And it was primarily the banks and financial institutions that were propped up with billions of dollars’ worth of bailouts, even as they attracted widespread criti...

      It is steeped in legend that the great Chinese emperor Shennong once said, “Every story has a beginning. And it is within you to gather your Zen, align the body and mind, channelize your energies, direct your forces of action and write that beginning. And when baffled in one direction, a man of energy will not despair but will find another way to his object. It is only then that the body will act in harmony with the flows of the chi (the energies of the universe) and a story would be written, one which could transcend the annals of time. And a utopian state would result, in which the body and mind, side by side, would revel in utter bliss.”      Despite the complex nature of Shennong’s words in the above quote, they do appear to hold several meanings, both apparent and hidden, all of which could be subject to multiple interpretations. Over the centuries, traders and caravans which treaded the Silk Route, and sailors and merchants who braved the ...