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HOME | BUSINESS | INTERVIEW |
April 1, 1996 |
The key thing is to have a clear and transparent framework of rules for the contracting and bidding processJ ADRIAN TURNER is the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, a position he took over in September 1995. He was previously with McKinsey & Company from 1982-1995, consulting on a wide range of industries -- including brewing, banking, telecom and electronics -- coincidentally some of the fastest growing sectors in India as well.From 1992, Turner focused on the building of McKinsey's practice in eastern Europe, with responsibility for all banking work. Prior to that, he worked with the British Petroleum planning department and the Chase Manhattan Bank. In a conversation with Savera R Someshwar, he focuses his attention on the rapidly developing Indian industrial and economic scenarios. Excerpts: What is your view of the performance of the economy and the corporate sector in the last one year? Like most people, I am very impressed with the progress that India has made in the liberalisation process in the last four years. The pace has been fairly rapid, especially as far as economic growth and a very continual opening of the economy to the international arena is concerned. And, provided the pace of liberalisation is maintained, I think this growth rate should continue. What are the decisions needed to be taken at the central level to make things better? The key thing, in order to facilitate this process, is to have a clear and transparent framework of rules for the contracting and bidding process. Which is why, of course, the resolving of the Enron issue is a major step towards clearing the path in that respect. As far as British investment is concerned, is British industry looking at any particular state keeping in mind the infrastructure that is available? Which, according to you, are the sectors Britain is most interested in? Do you feel there is a groundswell of public opinion against multinationals? Or is it engineered by politicians for their own ends? As far as the entrance of multinationals is concerned, I am sure there is a reticence on the part of some of the Indian population. But let us look at the British example where we had very large flows of inward investment over the last 15 years. There were, of course, initial worries that the Japanese industry was going to 'hollow' out, as the phrase was, the British industry. But it did not happen. In fact, the inward investment phase in Britain has been absolutely beneficial to the British economy and I'm sure the same will be true in India. The performance of our stock market and our currency has not been exemplary in the recent past. Will that affect international investment in India? In India, at least, the prospects will remain attractive provided the liberalisation process continues. To what extent does political stability affect foreign investment in India? Do you feel that the government should disinvolve itself from the business scene? The government has a very important role to play in creating a successful economy. But it is a facilitating role, not a role in terms of intervening themselves or trying to pick winners or making the sort of decisions that business people are better at making. Where do you see India five years from now? |
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