The Middle East, India and I

My two mentors

Living in Asia is something my friends envy for but even if i still like it and i survive it for 13 years, I can honestly tell you i have been through the thick and thin. Success and failure have been part of my early years in China; every time, i have been able to rebound to higher heights than my biggest previous achievements. During those soul search moments and beyond, I have always looked into the readings of my two mentors: Carlos Ghosn and Lee Kuan Yew.

Carlos Ghosn is the CEO of renault-Nissan and Lee Kuan Yew is an Asian stateman who ruled Singapore from 1959 to 1990 and is now Singapore minister mentor. What do those two people have in common?  Both of them are very resilient in hard times, visionary and make people follow them.Carlos arrived @ Nissan in 1999 where it was very closed to bankruptcy. As a Foreign outsider, he was able to turn it around and to make it once again a thriving car manufacturer. Now he is facing a new challenge with the financial and economic crisis the world is facing. No other industry has been hitted so much by the crisis: worldwide car sales except in China plummeted in 2009 by more than 25%.  He has done two steps: in 2009, Renault-Nissan shall have a free cash flow with a big reduction of inventory; 2nd step, during difficult times, he bets towards the future with his zero-emission vehicles. That is a vision! A concept that brings everybody @ Nissan-Renault behind Carlos Ghosn and shall benefit not only the consumer but also the environment!

Regarding Lee Kuan Yew, he is not very well-know in the western world mainly because he ruled a city- state in Asia! My thought is also some westerners they cannot learn from Asian, something i strongly disagree. Former Prime Minister of Singapore during three decades, he is also the founding father of the city-state. As he mentioned in his latest he brought Singapore from "third world to first world". I highly recommend the book and will give a review in one of my next posts.

Going back to myself, how those two people have had an influence on me? Carlos Ghosn lived in many countries including Japan and speaks several languages. He is a true citizen of the world and i tend to see myself the same way. I also like Lee Kuan Yew because he gives me meaning to the things I do everyday; sometimes, it is difficult to combine Western and Asian culture. he shows me the way to get the best out of the two of it.

I will write again on the influence of those two men in my coming posts!

Xmas in Singapore

I was recently In Singapore @ INSEAD. Amazing to find snowman with 30 degres outside. Only in Singapore!

 

Postponment of my INSEAD Executive Programme in Singapore

I feel very sad today! I was supposed to attend INSEAD Asia International Executive Programme from June 1st to June 12th, 2009 but I had to cancel at the last minute. The reason? No sickness, no financial distress but my CEO asked me to postpone my attendance to the programme because my presence is highly required @ work during those troubled economic times. Two weeks away from my company was too much! I am in charge of the construction of our new factory (35,000m2/ 350,000 sq feet) in Kunshan (Jiangsu Province, China).
INSEAD was not happy at all I cancelled; I received many phone calls from the school: "You don't know how hard it is to be accepted at our business school", "you have to pay 100% cancellation fee (12,000 Euros)", etc...
I was already very disappointed not to attend and, in addition, I get the blame from the business school.
It was already one of the toughest decisions I had to take in my life. On one side, my boss asked me to stay and on the other side my wife wanted I go no matter what. I forgot to mention, I already booked my airtickets and hotel @ INSEAD.

Finally, I decided to postpone my attendance at INSEAD and they agreed. So, I will go to INSEAD in November 09. I got the approval from my boss and from INSEAD but there are two downsides to it.
- In November, I will have two weeks. Normally, at that time, I go to visit my wife @ Duke Fuqua but not this year. I will have to wait Xmas. We plan to go to South America.
- My boss takes a lot of vacation while I stay to work. :-( I will not use all the vacations I am entitled too!

I feel very sad today! I was supposed to attend INSEAD Asia International Executive Programme from June 1st to June 12th, 2009 but I had to cancel at the last minute. The reason? No sickness, no financial distress but my CEO asked me to postpone my attendance to the programme because my presence is highly required @ work during those troubled economic times. Two weeks away from my company was too much! I am in charge of the construction of our new factory (35,000m2/ 350,000 sq feet) in Kunshan (Jiangsu Province, China).
INSEAD was not happy at all I cancelled; I received many phone calls from the school: "You don't know how hard it is to be accepted at our business school", "you have to pay 100% cancellation fee (12,000 Euros)", etc...
I was already very disappointed not to attend and, in addition, I get the blame from the business school.
It was already one of the toughest decisions I had to take in my life. On one side, my boss asked me to stay and on the other side my wife wanted I go no matter what. I forgot to mention, I already booked my airtickets and hotel @ INSEAD.

Finally, I decided to postpone my attendance at INSEAD and they agreed. So, I will go to INSEAD in November 09. I got the approval from my boss and from INSEAD but there are two downsides to it.
- In November, I will have two weeks. Normally, at that time, I go to visit my wife @ Duke Fuqua but not this year. I will have to wait Xmas. We plan to go to South America.
- My boss takes a lot of vacation while I stay to work. :-( I will not use all the vacations I am entitled too!

Customer review: Flight AA288 from Shanghai to Chicago

Tagged: 5 things you didn't know about me...

Last year, at the same period I published a blog post about 5 things you didn't know about me . I have decided this year to do a new one. As you will read, some issues have found their solutions, others are new. So enough talk, let's write!
1- I have reconnected with my mother with whom I didn't have news for the past 11 years. She has changed since the retired 18 months, and I got more mature and self-confident. It is really a big achievement and I feel really at peace now!
2- I am 37 and I finally found my soulmate, her name is Caroline, she is Chinese and eventually, we will marry this spring.
3- Despite my high salary and the advantages coming from my job position, I have been hit by the economic crisis. My wife is, currently, doing a MBA @ Duke Fuqua promotion 2010. While we hoped last year to have a student loan, it appeared very quickly it would be impossible with the financial meltdown. Bank loans for Foreign students has increased to 20% interest rate which means if you borrow 150,000 USD for 2 years MBA you have to reimburse 300,000 USD within 5 years. Therefore, we have decided to pay without borrowing; I will pay 150,000 USD within 18 months putting us in a lot of financial pressure.  Compare to other students I still feel lucky, we can afford to pay in full the MBA, some are quitting right now!
4-I have moved again last october 2008 from Beijing to Shanghai. I have to admit I prefer Shanghai to Beijing because the city is greener, less polluted, warmer, more international and it is the economic center of China therefore more opportunities.
5- I will attend in June at INSEAD Singapore an executive education. I have a law degree, an Executive MBA and currently doing a PhD but I feel the need for more knowledge in management and Asia therefore I am attending this program. It doesn't come cheap 11,900 Euros but my friends who attended it said it is worth it.

How to set-up your operation in India?

Opening a business in India usually involves navigating through mountains of red tape. Here is a look at some key approvals required to start a business in India:

AUTOMATIC/FIPB ROUTE

The Reserve Bank of India gives an automatic approval if the proposed foreign investment complies with caps on foreign holdings, which vary from sector to sector. There are some sectors, such as retail, in which foreign firms must also get the approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, made up of senior government officials and headed by the finance minister.

REGISTERING A COMPANY

Setting up a company in India requires permission from the regional registrar of companies, and more than 12 approvals are required if a foreign firm wants to own land and construct its own premises.

REGULATORY BODIES

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade must approve any plans to import or export. Software Technologies Parks of India registration is required to run a software or an outsourcing firm as it entails tax and import benefits.

SEBI's approval is required for financial firms, while Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority must approve insurance ventures.

TAX AUTHORITIES

A company has to register with tax authorities as it may be liable for a complex web of state and federal taxes.

LABOUR WELFARE BODIES

Approvals from the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, the Employees' State Insurance Corporation for medical insurance and the RBI to employ

ENFORCING CONTRACTS

India ranks 177th out of 178 countries in the World Bank-International Finance Corp "Doing Business 2008". Enforcing contracts takes on average 46 procedures, 1,420 days and takes up 39.6 per cent of the cost of claim.

CLOSING BUSINESS

The report ranks India 137th and says it takes nearly 10 years to close a business.

State Bank of India competing with China ICBC

China and India share a lot of things in common large country, large population, fast growing market but also the two biggest banks with most branches.

China ICBC ranks first with more than 12,000 branches across the Middle Kingdom and now State Bank o India just reached the 10,000 mark.

SBI opened their 10,000th branch in Puduvayal district of Tamil Nadu.

Congrats to them! I just hope their service can improve.

Is Dubai a labor ghetto?

I went through an interesting article yesterday from Asia Sentinel claiming Dubai is a labor ghetto. I have a more balanced view about our Foreign workers in Dubai. Dubai and neighbouring gulf states are growing at very rapid pace, especially the construction industry and hundreds of thousands of workers coming from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh come everyday to build those majestic structures. Working there is harsh but working in India and the countries mentioned above is even worse it is why they come to Dubai and the neighbouring gulf states to find work or have better salaries. Don't get me wrong! The situation is not perfect far from it and the Dubai government has forced several times Real Estate developers to pay quickly to workers their salaries, their overtime payment and allowance. The Dubai government has even taken steps to build house infrastructure for these expats from the sub-continent. Dubai is also on the verge of passing new labor laws more favorable to foreign employees. One law I would like to see is the possibility to switch from employer to employer in Dubai without going out from the country and wait for a period of 6 months how it is now necessary.

Who knew Tata Motors in the Western world until yesterday?

My title may seem arrogant but it is not. I am currently in France for business and family purposes, so during my free time I zap cable TV channels from around the world or surf on internet for the latest news: and what are the news for January 10th, 2008: Tata Motors is selling the cheapest car in the world at 100,000 rupees.

All newspapers or TV stations around the world talk about it. You can find news about it China, Russia, Japan, France, South Africa, Middle East. So, now Tata Motors is on the world map even  if nobody  has seen in Europe, Africa, the rest of Asia or North America a Tata car, now they know the Tata Nano.

Now Welcome Renault and Bajaj on the India frenzy for low-cost cars

India's second-biggest motorbike maker Bajaj Auto said January 8th, 2007 it aims to bring out a cheap, highly fuel-efficient small car within four years in a tie-up probably with French carmaker Renault.

The vehicle would feature twice the fuel economy of current cars but would cost more than the 2,500 dollar car -- the world's cheapest -- that Indian truckmaker Tata Motors will unveil on January 10th, 2007.

Bajaj managing director Rajiv Bajaj didn't name a price for the planned two-cylinder-engine car but said it would be "reasonable" and offer an "unbeatable total cost of operation."

Renault's chief executive, my beloved Carlos Ghosn has said the French firm is looking to produce a 3,000 dollar car in India by 2010.

A partnership feasibility study on the small-car project with Renault is expected to be finished by next month according to Bajaj Auto.

Domestic and international carmakers are racing to corner India's small-car market, which accounts for over two-thirds of domestic sales in the country of 1.1 billion people.

Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Corp., among other global carmakers, also say they are mulling building low-cost cars as India's population becomes more affluent and trades up from motorcycles. Small car sales are expected to nearly double to around two million units by 2010.

Top Indian environmentalist Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change who was recently awarded the Nobel Prize with former US vice-president Al Gore, has said he has "nightmares" about the potential impact of the new "cheapmobiles" running on Indian streets.

The Renault-Nissan car could be powered by both diesel and petrol and feature a "unique" transmission system midway between a manual and automatic gear shift.

Bajaj Auto would spearhead the alliance in what experts call a shift from bike to car engineering.

Bajaj said a new plant at Chakan near Pune in western India would likely produce the car. The plant will also make a light commercial vehicle that Bajaj plans to launch in early 2009.

The Indian company wanted to gain expertise from Renault "on what it takes to produce cars on a large scale consistently" besides acquiring global market access, Bajaj said.

Indian firms need such global tie-ups to make technological leaps and save years of development time. China took the same path in the 80's and 90's and is now developing its own car brands like Geely, Brilliance, Dongfeng or SAIC.