India Managed the crisis better

Well a very nice article about Indian Economy robustness and the reasons behind it.......
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/business/20nocera.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1


One of the biggest reason - Strong regulations to check speculative activities and profiteering.


BUT STOP A MIN - WAS BAD FINANCIAL REGULATIONS A REASON OF FAILURE FOR US - I BEG TO DISAGREE

A little more about Atul Punj

A little more about Atul Punj

His second generation moved into manufacturing truck bodies, industrial insulation materials and air conditioners (in partnership with Fedders Corp.).

He bid to construct a 100-mile oil pipeline between Mumbai and Pune for state-owned Hindustan Petroleum. The pipeline was eventually completed two years later but had racked up losses that the group could ill afford. He got its first overseas break as a sub-contractor to PT Trihasra Bimanusa Tunggal, an Indonesian firm with Suharto family ties that had the contract to build a 130-mile pipeline for Pertamina, the state-owned petroleum firm.

Raising a bank guarantee for $2.6 million (20% of the total contract amount of $13 million) was a nightmare as he couldn't provide any security collateral. The banks he approached showed him the door. Ten days short of the deadline a banker at ICICI Bank agreed to provide the guarantee, accepting Atul's word as collateral. Punj executed the Indonesian project six months ahead of schedule, making enough money to wipe out its accumulated losses. "That's when our journey really started," says Atul

Great People do commit mistakes
However, hubris led Atul into another misstep. While building a fiber-optic network for telecom firm Bharti Airtel, he latched on to Internet services, which were just taking off in India. Atul admits that he was lured by the prospect of making a quick buck. Borrowing $50 million from ICICI Bank in 1999, an amount equivalent to Punj Lloyd's revenues that year, he set up Spectranet, an ISP.

A mistake of evaluation
January 2000 Nomura Securities offered to buy Spectranet for $350 million, boosting its offer to $550 million in August. Atul was set to make a killing, but a month later the technology bubble burst and Nomura backed out of the deal.

I was with Punj Lloyd at this time
Punj was once more on the brink. "We'd run out of cash and were leveraged to the hilt. Through it all, Atul kept smiling so we never felt that we were going under," recalls Luv Chhabra, Punj Lloyd's director of corporate affairs.

And .........The rest is History

Regrouping, Atul turned his attention back to construction. Again luck and timing worked in his favor as markets like Kazakhstan and Libya opened up, drawing in the world's oil majors. Punj Lloyd made early inroads into those countries, initially securing modest contracts as a subcontractor to big firms like Bechtel and Kellogg Brown & Root (nyse: HAL - news - people ) (now KBR). "Today we can compete with the global majors," says managing director Vimal Kaushik, a 38-year Punj veteran.

In a bid to unlink Punj from the notoriously volatile energy sector, Atul has expanded into infrastructure, a crying need in India. Punj has built highways, ports and elevated railroads. In June it forged a partnership with Singapore Technologies Kinetics to make defense equipment.

Atul has set a tall target for Punj: to be among the top five engineering and construction firms by 2012 in the markets in which it operates. (It now is only a fourth the size of Larsen & Toubro.) Age seems to have tempered him a bit, though. "We've had some serious tailwind behind us in recent years, but this is a real stretch goal," he acknowledges. "So when I come to the office every morning, I try to remind myself: This is your first day on the job."

One of my Hero - Atul Punj

Well I worked with Punj Lloyd for 2 years and I was really impressed with the growth the company was making in all feilds such as HR, IR, Technical Competency Improvement and what not .......i think it was moving ahead in the value chain in almost all aspects of business.





Following is an interesting peice of article, I found about Atul Punj

http://www.forbes.com/global/2008/1222/035_2.html

SWOT

Strength

Extensive Experience of 7 years
Diverse Experience in various domains – Projects, Operation, Marketing, Retailing


Weakness

Opportunities

Doing internship in India and China
China Guanghua School of Management, Peking University
(PEKING), Beijing
• • Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong
• China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai
India • Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA),
Ahmedabad
• Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), Bangalore
Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad

Singapore • Nanyang Business School (NBS), Singapore
• National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
Leveraging CFP

Corruption - A Stigma to India

The one thing I want to change in India - Corruption

Corruption has been one of the pervasive problems affecting India. It takes the form of bribes, evasion of tax and exchange controls, embezzlement, etc. The economic reforms of 1991 reduced the red tape, bureaucracy and the Licence Raj that had strangled private enterprise and was blamed for the corruption and inefficiencies. Yet, a 2005 study by Transparency International (TI) India found that more than half of those surveyed had firsthand experience of paying a bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office.

The chief economic consequences of corruption are the loss to the exchequer, an unhealthy climate for investment and an increase in the cost of government-subsidised services. The TI India study estimates the monetary value of petty corruption in 11 basic services provided by the government, like education, healthcare, judiciary, police, etc., to be around Rs.21,068 crores. India still ranks in the bottom quartile of developing nations in terms of the ease of doing business, and compared with China, the average time taken to secure the clearances for a startup or to invoke bankruptcy is much greater.

The Right to Information Act (2005) and equivalent acts in the states, that require government officials to furnish information requested by citizens or face punitive action, computerisation of services and various central and state government acts that established vigilance commissions have considerably reduced corruption or at least have opened up avenues to redress grievances. The 2006 report by Transparency International puts India at 70th place and states that significant improvements were made by India in reducing corruption.

The Entreprenueral Gust

The other day , I came to know about my senior, who had a million dollar firm in the silicon valley, I was filled up with joy and enthrillment. But more than that, I was filled with the sense of the feeling - " If he can , I can ".

well, Is it a mere comparison or simply a reflection..........

Guangdong Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal, China

Found a very good source on net......

http://www.hydrocarbons-technology.com/projects/guangdong/


Enclosing the same for benfits of all........

Order Year2002Construction Started2003Project TypeLiquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal and pipelineLocationGuangdong Province, ChinaEstimated Investment$900mCompletionPhase 1 - on stream June 2006; Phase 2 - 2008Production and AimSupply of cities and power stations around the Pearl River delta and Hong Kong with five million tons a year of LNG by 2008Full specifications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This project involves the construction of China's first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal and associated high-pressure gas pipelines to supply Guangdong Province with 3.3 million tons of LNG a year (four billion cubic metres a year of natural gas) by 2008.

Guangdong province is currently the largest importer of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in China and the new LNG terminal is expected to impact greatly on the LPG market and other fuels currently used in the Province.

The project was first launched in 2002 and is due to be constructed in two phases. Phase 1 was completed in 2006 (first LNG was onstream by the end of June 2006) and Phase 2 by 2008. The project is in joint development and is shared by:

China National Offshore Corporation (CNOOC) - 33% share
Guangdong Province consortium (includes Shenzen Investment Holding Company, Guangdong Electric Power Holding Company, Guangzhou Gas Company, Dongguan Fuel Industrial General Company and Foshan Municipal Gas General Company) - 31% share
British Petroleum Amoco - 30% share
Hong Kong Electric and Light Company - 3% share
Hong Kong and China Gas Corporation - 3%
Jones Day were the advisors on the project. The project will cost an estimated $900m to construct.

LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS CONTRACTORS AND CONSTRUCTION
The Feasibility Study Report (FSR) was submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the Provincial Government in April 2003. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was carried out by Atkins of Hong Kong. The FSR and budget were passed by the Provincial Government during the second quarter of 2003, allowing the appointment of contractors for the Phase 1 construction to be started.

Early site preparation by CNOOC was underway in May 2003 with the cooperation of the Shenzen Planning Bureau, Land and Resources Bureau, Construction Bureau and the Logistics Department of Guangdong Military Zone. The Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contract was awarded to Halliburton KBR and JGC Corporation of Yokohama, Japan. The conceptual design was carried out by MW Kellogg Ltd in London, UK.

The STTS Group, a French / Italian joint venture comprising Saipem, Technigaz and the engineering companies Tecnimont and Sofregaz, was awarded the Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) lump sum turnkey contract for the project. This contract is worth $240m with Saipem receiving a 60% share worth $145m.

FIRST PHASE

The first phase of the project involves the construction of the LNG import terminal, two LNG storage tanks, regasification plant, the associated marine engineering works and a 300km trunkline system. The LNG terminal is being constructed at Ping Tou Jiao on the Dapeng Peninsula in Dapeng Bay. The trunkline is being constructed on the eastern side of the Pearl River delta to supply Pingshan, Dongguan, Guangzhou and Foshan.

"The project will cost an estimated $900m to construct."The trunkline has two lateral branch pipelines to connect to two new gas fired power stations and three recently converted oil fired power stations in China. In addition there is a lateral pipeline to deliver LNG to a gas fired power station owned by Hong Kong Electric and Light Company and also to the Hong Kong and China Gas Corporation.

SECOND PHASE

The second phase will see an increase in the capacity at the LNG terminal and the extension of the trunkline by a further 182km past Foshan to supply other cities in the Pearl River delta, including Zhuhai, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Heshan.

The import capacity of the terminal will then be increased by a further two million tons of LNG a year to five million tons a year. It is expected that the LNG transmission system will also be also be able to accommodate a further 1.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year expected from reserves in the South China Sea. The second phase supply contract is still out to tender and was not due to be awarded until late 2006.

LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS SUPPLY CONTRACT FOR THE FIRST PHASE
Bids were invited for the supply contract for the new LNG terminal in Guangdong province from September 2000 by the Provincial Government. The supply contract was awarded to North West Shelf Venture (NSW), an Australia-based consortium, in August 2002. The export deal is worth AU$25bn over the supply period which has been set at 25 years (3.3 million tons a year).

The consortium includes Woodside Energy Ltd (the operator), BHP Billiton (North West Shelf) Pty Ltd, Japan Australia LNG (MIMI) Pty Ltd and Shell Development (Australia) Pty Ltd. All members of the consortium hold an equal share of the concern. It is likely that CNOOC (oil and offshore gas producing unit) will seek to acquire a participating interest in the North West Shelf Venture.

The fulfilment of this supply contract will require NSW to construct additional processing trains and a second trunkline from the North Rankin A platform to shore in Western Australia.

"Guangdong province is currently the largest importer of LPG in China."There are three existing processing trains at the Karratha LNG liquefaction plant on the Burrup Peninsula, each with a capacity to produce 2.5 million tons a yar of LNG. A fourth is being constructed with a capacity of 4.2 million tons a year, which should come onstream in mid 2004. A fifth train is also now planned. The combination of the fourth and fifth trains will more than double the output of the Karratha plant.

NSW will ship the LNG in conjunction with two Chinese partners, COSCO and China Merchants. This will require three new LNG transport vessels. NSW currently has a fleet of eight vessels to serve existing customers with a ninth under construction by Daewoo of South Korea. The construction of three new LNG vessels will be commissioned in due course.

LNG Boom in India

IN 2003, NTPC dropped deals at around 4-5 per MBTU

It was summarily turned down as an "overpriced" and "unviable" offer. Less than three years later, potential buyers from India -- including those who passed on the $4.5 offer -- are scrambling to buy LNG even at $7 or $8. It's a steal at that price: countries like Japan and South Korea are buying LNG at $11 and $20.

It's taken just three years to turn the market dynamics of the LNG industry on its head. With demand in India and China growing at 6-7 per cent a year, suddenly LNG is a suppliers' market.

But it's no party for suppliers, either. Between buying gas at respectable prices from producers across the world and India, to selling them to customers like power plants and fertiliser companies at a profit-generating rate, the suppliers have their work cut out.

This isn't a temporary situation. Natural gas is a clean fuel and given the rising costs of emission control equipment, Indian power generators are increasingly switching from coal-fired to gas-fired plants. As are auto makers.

Good Bye - Maharashtra

While boarding the plane at Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji Airport, I was boarding a new life........

Operations Officer - Loni LPG Plant.

Well this was a deep sea change for me.....Lot of advises and well wishes of ppl are there with me....