Doing Business in India

As the story of the growing (some would say "Miraculous" ) economic boom in India spreads, I'm getting calls and emails from friends and associates far and wide. Everyone wants to know whats going, whats changed and if the market is too hot to enter. Ok, so even the most conservative of equity mutual funds have grown 50% year on year last 4 years. The property market has doubled in the same period. So have salaries. And there are jobs for everyone; and money for anyone who wants to set-up a business. A friend of mine raised $18 million last month; another raised $7 million. Yet another, who is a real estate developer has just purchased a 2000 acre island off Bombay and is developing that into a complex of luxury homes. A travel agent in Delhi ordered a 100 Airbus ..... and so on & on......

So how do you get in?

First, read these reports from E&Y: One is suitably called Doing Business in India; and the other is about Conducting Private Equity Transactions in India. Both these reports should give you an introduction on the state of affairs here.


Second, fimalirise yourself with news and business headlines from India. Some good sources are: Times of India, Business Standard, MyIRIS, Google News India.

Third, start correspondence with Indian head hunters, investment bankers, your consulate and trade bodies.

Fourth, read Shantaram :)

Fifth, get out of your ac office and make a trip down here. Goto Bombay, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi. It will give you a feel of the place (chaoitic) and the mood of the people. Try and time it with a trade show or conference.

Sixth, If you have time, check out Dubai & Bangkok, and you'll get a sense of the whole region and how it all plays out.

Good Luck