India and Japan set to improve ties: Wanchoo

“India and Japan are poised to strengthen their relationship in the current framework of comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. There are a lot of challenges because of the fast-changing geopolitical dynamics and the evolving Indo-Pacific security architecture,” said the Governor of Goa Bharat Vir Wanchoo. 

He was speaking after inaugurating the two-day international conference on ‘Promoting India-Japan Strategic Dialogue’ organised by the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations of Manipal University in association with the Japan Foundation, here on Friday.

Mr. Wanchoo said Japan had made important contributions to facilitate the development of infrastructure in India. “Both India and Japan have been looking for convergence on pertinent themes impacting global peace and stability. The potential for evolving a robust partnership exists and it needs to be exploited at every level and in all spheres,” he added. He said Asia’s resurgence began a century ago with the progress of Japan. Both India and Japan were for democracy, peace, and freedom. Over the past decade, India-Japan relations had seen a quantum leap. India wanted to advance its bilateral relationship with Japan. Both had mutual stake in each other’s prosperity.

There were convergences between both the countries on issues such as cyber security, counter-terrorism, and economic partnership. Japan had also contributed towards the improvement of the manufacturing sector in India. India-Japan relations were at the core of India’s ‘Look East’ policy. The importance of civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries needed to be underscored, Mr. Wanchoo said. 

Experts from both Japan and India were attending the international conference. The themes identified for the discussion include political, economic, strategic, nuclear, maritime security, terrorism, cyber threats, disaster management, high technology cooperation, and the prospects for synergy building in India-Japan relations. 

M.D. Nalapat, Honorary Director and UNESCO Peace Chair, the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, welcomed the gathering. Arvind Kumar, Head of the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, gave an overview of the conference. H. Vinod Bhat, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University, chaired the inaugural session.

Ramdas Pai, Chancellor of Manipal University, H.S. Ballal, Pro-Chancellor, and K. Ramnarayan, Vice-Chancellor, were present.

Nikon expects sales growth of just 5 pc to Rs 1,050 crore in FY14

Japanese imaging major Nikon expects its sales in India to grow by just 5 per cent and Rs 1,050 crore turnover in the current fiscal as compared to 25 per cent growth last fiscal due to economic slowdown.


"Due to economic slow down we expect to grow by 5 per cent and report turnover of Rs 1,050 crore this year. However, Indian market has huge potential and we strongly believe growth will bounce back once economy revives," Nikon India Pvt Ltd Managing Director Hiroshi Takashina told PTI.

The company had reported turnover of Rs 1,000 crore and growth of 25 per cent in the last financial year.
The company expects sales growth to bounce back to minimum 10 per cent in the next financial year, he added.
Nikon India, which contributes 1.5 per cent at present to the parent company's turnover, is targeting to increase it to 5 per cent in the next five years and India to become top 10 market for the company by then.
"At present, Nikon India is positioned at 10th place in compact camera sales but in DSLR sales, India in among top 20. We expect DSLR sales to pick up and India to be top 10 market for Nikon, Japan," Takashina said.

Europe, North America, China and Japan are the top market for the company.
The company, which at present imports all its products from its factories in Japan, Thailand and China, may look at local manufacturing if the demand for DSLR shoot significantly.
"At present, total market for DSLRs is just 2.5 lakh units. It is unlikely that we would begin manufacturing in India in the next 5 years. We may look at it only when the demand goes up significantly," he said.

Compact camera and DSLRs contribute equally in the company's sales.
Nikon India is bullish about festive sales and expect about 30-35 per cent sales from the festive season.
The company is also organising bloggers meet across the country to connect with photography enthusiasts and to communicate with its target customers. It has already organised in Mumbai, Banaglore and Delhi. It will soon move to other cities like Kolkata and Hyderabad.

India-Japan tourism expo to be held in Delhi in Jan 2014

The first ever India-Japan tourism expo will be held here in January next year to provide a platform for better networking between travel and tourism companies from both countries.

The event will be inaugurated by the Union Minister for Tourism and will be attended by policy makers from both the countries, besides officials from private travel companies, hotels, airlines and railways, said a statement by Avenues, a private Indian firm which is organising it.

Yokohama launches made-for-India tyres

Japan has a strong association with India when it comes to the automotive world. Long ago, Maruti associated with Suzuki and quite literally redefined personal mobility in India. With the Japanese cars, Maruti Suzuki has sold millions of units in India in the past years. And Suzuki isn't the only Japanese company that been a part of Indian automotive development. Honda, Toyota and Nissan too have played prominent roles.

In fact, with the massive potential in India, Toyota even developed made-for-India products with the Etios and the Liva. And the rest have been adapting their products to match their line-up with Indian conditions.

But it's not only the carmakers who have been adapting or making made-for-India products. Yokohama tyres have just launched their designed-for-India brand - Earth 1, to withstand Indian conditions. And by Indian conditions, we mean the pothole-ridden and rough roads that we encounter on our daily commute. The Earth 1 promises less tyre wear and ability to withstand the long-term torture that comes with driving on Indian roads. Much longer than what its competitors would do, according to Yokohama.

The Earth 1, with its design, manages to give you better grip through rough and wet roads. And Yokohama also claims to make the ride quieter than other tyres. It also absorbs much more impact while doing that.

For now, The Earth 1 will be available in six sizes ranging from 13-inches to 15-inches. But Yokohama plans to increase the number of sizes upto 25, once their brand new local facility is inaugurated in mid 2014.

Japanese business chamber might take legal route on transfer pricing rules

The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India (JCCII) is getting aggressive on the transfer pricing rules in this country.
It says if the issue isn’t resolved amicably with the Indian authorities, this could stop investments from Japan. It has not ruled out taking to legal options on the issue.

The Japanese government has asked Indian tax authorities to recognise the Indian subsidiaries of Japanese firms in line with their concept of 'sogo shosha', meaning general trading houses, for transfer pricing norms. It has raised the concern "very strongly" with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the department of economic affairs (DEA) and the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), a key official said.
JCCII has complained that the Indian tax authorities have misunderstood the functional profile of the Indian subsidiaries of Japanese sogo shosha. "These entities are not traders but service providers, so transfer price taxation does not apply on them. If mutual discussions fail, then Japanese companies might go for litigation," an official from there told Business Standard on condition of anonymity.
The official also pointed to a lack of clarity in the measurement criteria. The chmaber has asked the revenue department to allow the Berry Ratio, a profit indicator and used globally, to be allowed for sogo shosha.

According to the official, the revenue department has stated that treatment of these subsidiaries of sogo shosha only as a service provider and not as trader has to be seen on a case-to-case basis, which Japan finds "highly arbitrary".
Rohan Phatarphekar, head of transfer pricing at KPMG, said Japanese trading companies typically provide marketing support activities, sometimes akin to trading operations. "Traders operate at a much higher margin compared to the marketing executives," he said.
The issue was very strongly raised last week by Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry Toshimitsu Motegi, who was leading a high-powered business delegation comprising Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Panasonic, among others, to India.

During a meeting with commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma last month, the Japanese industry representatives showed extreme displeasure over transfer price taxation, which has put pressure on their margins.
Japan is the fourth largest contributor to foreign direct investment in India, after Mauritius, Singapore and the United Kingdom. It chipped in $14.8 billion between April 2000 and July 2013, about 7.4 per cent of all FDI inflows.

India, Japan expand currency swap pact to $50 bn

St. Petersburg, Sep 6 (IANS) India and Japan have decided to expand their currency swap agreement, a financial tool to help cushion volatility in foreign exchange markets, to $50 billion from $15 billion, it was announced here Friday.
The decision was conveyed following a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Japanese Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here.

"The two governments expect that this (expanded currency swap) will contribute to the stability of global financial markets, including emerging economies," a joint statement issued by the two sides said.
"The two governments also reiterated the importance of continued reforms in financial and investment sectors for promoting stable and long term capital inflows into India. The two governments believe that these policy measures will strengthen the bilateral financial cooperation between Japan and India."
Under swap arrangements, two entities -- companies or governments -- agree to exchange one currency for another at a predetermined rate and interest.

The advantage of such pacts is that they eliminate the risk that the future exchange rate will change in a way that puts one party or the other at a disadvantage.
Briefing journalists later, India's Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said this pact will go a long way in addressing volatility in currency markets.
"The problem today is of not reality but of perception. It is clear, neither Japan will need this (money available) nor will we," he said, alluding the pact will notionally shore up India's foreign exchange reserves, currently at around $280 billion, and provide a cushion of perception.
"On our part, we are committed to reducing the current account deficit to 3.7 percent. But markets tend to have a fear of the unknown. Agreements like these will shore up confidence and sentiments," he said.

Hitachi inaugurates two projects at Neemrana Japanese zone

India had tremendous potential for investment in the automotive industry, Hitachi President and Chief Executive Officer of Hitachi Chemical Kazuyuki Tanaka said on Tuesday in Neemrana, about 100 km from here.

Speaking at the inauguration of two new projects, Allied JB Friction Pvt. Ltd. and Hitachi Chemical India Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Tanaka appreciated the transformation of the Japanese zone at Neemrana.

Mr. Tanaka said Hitachi Chemicals was expanding globally and besides India, where the unit begun production on Tuesday, the company had established plants in Singapore, Thailand, China, Indonesia and the U.S.

Hitachi Chemical has been set up at a total cost of Rs.120 crore for the manufacture of powdered metal products, mainly for engine and transmission components for two and four wheelers. In the current fiscal, the company envisages sales of Rs.20 crore, moving on to Rs.110 crore by 2015.

Speaking on the occasion, Tsunemasa Teramoto, the First Secretary of the Embassy of Japan, said that India was a young market for the automotive industry and its components.

“Japan is looking forward to collaborate (with India) in this area and invest in this sector,” he said.

Ravi Talwar, Chairman of Allied Nippon, the Indian partner of Allied JB Friction, hoped the newly set-up company, which will be manufacturing disc pads, brake linings and shoe assemblies for two wheelers as well as four-wheelers, would soon become number one in the country.

Allied JB Friction, set up at a cost of Rs.57.80 crore, will generate employment for 320 persons.

Nissan unlikely to sell 100,000 cars this year

Nissan Motor India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Nissan Motor Japan, may fall short of its sales target of 100,000 units for 2013-14 as the auto sector continues to witness significant slump in sales.

Kenichiro Yomura, president at Nissan India Operations, told Financial Chronicle that achieving the number looks difficult with the present slowdown in the sector. “We have not given up yet, but it looks difficult,” he said.

In the first six months of the fiscal year (April to September) the company’s domestic sales declined 43 per cent from a year ago to 12,343 units. The company which is the second largest exporter in the country has witnessed 8 per cent increase in its sales till September this year and has sold 49,653 units.

Yaresh Kothari, an analyst at Angel Broking said, “Given the present slowdown, it looks difficult the company will be able to achieve the target. While domestic sales have taken a significant hit the exports are doing well and that is the only ray of hope for the company.”

The company on Tuesday launched an updated version of its Evalia for the Indian market.

“This is the first time we have launched a product specifically for any market based on customer feedback,” said Yomura.

The refreshed Evalia will be priced between Rs 8.78 lakh and Rs 10.73 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).

The major updates on Evalia come in the form of sliding Euro windows on the middle row, sliding and reclining captain seats in the middle row and 15-inch alloy wheels in the top of the line XV variant among others. The company said it has updated the features of the vehicle based on customer feedback.

Commenting on the changes in Evalia, Nissan India's president - operations, Kenichiro Yomura, said: “New features in Evalia reinforces Nissan's commitment to the Indian market and consumers. All of Evalia’s four grades have high levels of active and passive safety and advanced features that are designed to enhance driving experience."

The changes come as part of Nissan's customer-centric approach and the brand's endeavour of constantly improving its products by incorporating key customer inputs, the company said in a statement.

Nissan launched Evalia in September last year and the company is selling around 200 units of the old version.

Japan looking for Rice Bran Oil from India and Joint Ventures

Indian Rice Bran Oil, known as “Health Oil” in India and “Heart Oil” in Japan may soon land on the coast of Japan, the Land of Rising Sun, if every things go well.Japanese rice bran oil (they call it Rice Oil or Heart Oil) manufacturers have shown keen interest in the import of Rice Bran Oil from India. Some of the Japanese manufacturers are also looking for joint venture with Indian producers of Rice Bran Oil for manufacturing value added products.

This was the outcome of the meeting between a Seven-Member official Japanese delegation from Wakayama Prefectural Government and The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA). The Indian team at the meeting consisted of Dr. B.V. Mehta, Executive Director of SEA and some of the leading rice bran oil manufacturers/ marketers. While the Japanese delegation included Mr Daisuke Tsutsumi, Director for Overseas Promotion, Wakayama Perfectural Government and Mr. Toshimichi Tsuno leading Rice Bran oil and value added products manufacturer in Japan.

LINE wants to join closely knit groups instead of world

Instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp have fuelled a new form of group communication over mobile. Japanese instant messaging app LINE believes this could spur social networking among small communities.
“Mark Zuckerberg wants to bring the whole world together. That includes strangers and many others. We have no intention of doing that. We would want to bring people who are already close, closer,” said Akira Morikawa, chief executive officer of LINE. The company is focused on personal communication to social groups, which it claims is what smartphone users look for.
Morikawa tells stories of how the application, launched recently in India, has already become one such medium of friends and even family to stay in touch with. “Grandchild keeps in touch with the grandfather online. Keeping in touch with small groups is relevant to everyone's life,” he said.
With specialised stickers, LINE hopes to give a richer experience than the apps that already exist and have garnered a large subscriber base. “We get compared with WhatsApp but we offer voice as well. We get compared to Viber as well but we have gone much beyond simple stickers and allow communication via video and voice,” said  Morikawa.
LINE also has a version that can be downloaded and used on the personal computer. It also offers a platform for games and posts. One of its features includes adding a friend by shaking devices together.
The Japanese app has already clocked in 10 million users in India three months before the official launch. It plans to double this number to 20 million by the end of the year. To aid rapid increase in users, the application has taken up extensive marketing and has even hired Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador.
“We are going to take up marketing and promotion of the application to position it and enhance usage. We also plan to promote the application on television too, said Morikawa. It is also partnering with major Bollywood films which are yet to be released, like Krrish 3 and Dhoom 3, to provide exclusive content from these movies to its users. It has also tied up with Sony India, which plans to pre-instal the application on its handsets.
LINE is banking on the rapid growth in the smartphone to help it grow in India, which has already overtaken its home country. “India has overtaken Japan to become the country with the third largest number of smartphones. It is only natural to anticipate further growth in the smartphone market in India and it will become a vital territory as LINE expands,” said Morikawa. The growth of high-speed data services like 3G and 4G also made the application maker confident of increase in its usage in India.

Japan is the fourth major export-destination for the Indian cashew

Japanese cashew import reached 7,600 tonnes back in 2012. This is a significant figure for India, as Japan is the fourth major export-destination for the Indian cashew. The US, the UAE and the Netherlands are the top three destinations for the export of cashews from India. Of the 7,602 tonnes of cashew kernels imported by Japan in 2012, India’s share was 6,099 tonnes.

Walter D’Souza, Chairman of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Southern Region), told Business Line that quality Indian cashews are preferred in Japan. Many of the Indian exporters command a good premium in prices for the supply of quality consistent with high standards Japan expects from the importers, he said.

Consumers have become more selective for healthy and tasty food. The fear of radioactive pollution by the 2011 Japanese Tsunami has made the consumers more safety conscious. They are now looking at chemical free and radiation free food, he said.

Prakash Rao said that new comers such as Kenya are also making their entry into Japanese market. Japan imported 95 tonnes of cashew kernels from Kenya in 2012.
However, Kenya exported 86 tonnes in the first seven months of 2013 itself. (The total import of cashew kernel into Japan during the first seven months of 2013 stood at 4,966.3 tonnes. Of this, the share of India stood at 4,219.4 tonnes.)

D’Souza said that India can certainly cross the 10,000-tonne mark by 2015, if more Indian exporters are able to raise the bar in terms of Japanese specifications, quality, and performance parameters. Clarifying that Indian exporters are adhering to the internationally accepted specifications, he said Japan has created its own niche markets of quality and grading standards. These are much above the general specifications followed by other importing countries, he added.

Japan brings friendship and more investments to India

On Thursday, October 10, the state government of Maharashtra — without much fanfare or prior announcement — signed an MoU with the Wakayama Prefecture of Japan for cooperation in the fields of tourism, agro feed processing and local enterprises development. Wakayama Prefecture is a province of Japan located on the Kii Peninsula in the Kansai region on Honsh Island, not very far from Osaka.
Many observers see this MoU as a logical sequential development to a pattern that began emerging almost a decade ago. In December 2005, noted business and corporate strategist Kenichi Ohmae made a prophetic statement before a group of industrialists in Mumbai. He predicted that at least 400 Japanese companies would relocate to India by 2020, in an attempt to get a return on some part of its $14 trillion reserves.
Today, there are already 246 Japanese companies which work alongside their Indian business counterparts in Maharashtra. The number for all India is larger, and is bound to swell, once the DMIC (Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor) cities become operational. Dholera in Gujarat will be one of the first six cities to be built during DMIC’s first phase which should get over by 2020.
Thereafter, DMIC will begin its work on 18 other cities along the DFC. Each of these cities will have over 200 Indo-Japan joint ventures.  That should not surprise anyone because both the DMIC and the DFC (Dedicated Freight Corridor) linking Rewari (Haryana) and Mumbai are being largely financed by funds from Japan.
Japan clearly wants to make India its most important partner, partly because it is an emerging market and it would be foolish for any global player to ignore it. But it has opted for India also because there is no xenophobia against the Japanese as in China.  Three decades ago, Japan had plans to set up its base in that country.  But periodic riots against Japanese establishments there made its policymakers do a rethink.  India was the next inevitable step. A third reason is that Japan has an ageing population, which needs to be supported by business incomes from overseas, but where its investments can be safe and profitable. The US is on the decline.  China is unsafe for Japan. India provides the best opportunity. India as a birthplace of Buddhism is another cementing factor.  Over the past two decades, Japan has been helping India out with commendable restoration work in Ajanta and Ellora in Maharashtra, and in Bodh Gaya in Bihar.
Ditto with Buddhist shrines elsewhere in the country.
Visits to India’s Buddhist shrines have brought in Japanese tourists. As many as  2,20,015 Japanese tourists visited India, compared to 68,914 Indians who travelled to Japan in 2012. The Japanese now want more Indians to visit Japan.
That could partly explain the Wakayama MoU with Maharashtra.  Wakayama has heritage walks and shrines and is the spa centre of Japan. It is one of the most important Buddhist destinations in the world because it is host to esoteric Buddhism which was born in India (promoted by a saint named Zemui) in the 5th century.  This esoteric Buddhism disappeared from India in the 12th century.  But it survives — even thrives — in Japan.
Yet, industry is always around. Wakayama wants to promote business ties in food processing.  In the industrial space, it boasts of being a leader in producing computerised flat knitting machines, which can produce an entire garment as a single piece without any stitches. It produces rice, fine chemicals and automotive components. Clearly, Japan’s affair with India has just begun.

Japan’s airlines faced ‘delay tactics’ in India

Friction between Japan and India in the civil aviation sector had been growing over the past two months, with Tokyo banning Air India's brand new Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" aircraft and later also asking for a potential audit of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The request by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) for the potential audit was seen as an over-step by the Indian authorities.

  
Now, according to industry sources, during this period of argument with Japanese authorities, the country's two major airlines operating into India, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) were subjected to "random checks" in India on a daily basis, which resulted in more than frequent delays of flights being operated by the two carriers. The sources revealed that these almost daily "tactics" were seen as a direct reaction to Japan's over-reaching moves against India's state carrier and the DGCA. Last week Japan lifted the ban on Air India's Dreamliner aircraft.

These reactions by Indian authorities may have prompted pressure on the Japanese administration by both ANA and JAL to sort out the differences between itself and their counterparts in New Delhi.
The initial ban on Air India's new Boeing 787 aircrafts from operating into Japan was due to the state carrier's failure to provide the Japanese authorities with certain paperwork. In January, both ANA and JAL had grounded their fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, which was followed by a global grounding of the type. Last month, the Japanese barred Air India from operating the type into Japan after they claimed the airline did not submit the paperwork which showed that the modifications, which were suggested by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US globally in April, had been made.
However, Japan's request to audit the DGCA rubbed the Indian authorities the wrong way. Prior to this, the DGCA had been audited by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the FAA. Both ICAO and the FAA had cleared the DGCA, enabling India to hold on to its highest level of safety certification.

According to reports, Civil Aviation Secretary K.N. Srivastava had also written to India's ambassador to Japan, Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, asking to take up the issue of the requested "safety talk," which is seen as the first step before an audit, at an "appropriate level" in the Japanese government.
The Boeing 787 is looked upon as an aircraft which may change the fortunes of the financial ailing Air India. The aircraft was late in entering the airline's fleet, first due to long manufacturing delays by Boeing, and then by Air India as the airline negotiated with the manufacturer on the delay compensation settlement.

LNG - Pipe dreams vs reality

India and Japan's effort to form a multilateral group of liquefied natural gas buyers to avoid paying higher prices for the fuel is laudable as an objective but is unlikely to be effective immediately

India and Japan issued a joint statement in September 2013 seeking to form a multilateral group of liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers to eliminate the premium that Asian importers pay to buy the fuel. Indian Minister M Veerappa Moily and Japanese Minister Toshimitsu Motegi noted that Asian LNG prices are considerably higher than those in Europe and North America and not reflective of the actual fundamentals of LNG supply and demand. They invited other Asian importers to join a multilateral Joint LNG Study group to explore the formation of a buyers' consortium. However laudable as an objective, this is unlikely to be effective immediately.
Unlike crude oil, the market for LNG is not a global one. Prices are opaque, differ considerably by region and the market is not as deep or liquid as crude oil. Limited, albeit increasing, LNG volumes are traded on the spot market. LNG trade requires heavy capital investment in the form of export/import terminals and specialised vessels. These costs are reflected in the price disparity. While US natural gas prices are determined freely according to supply/demand fundamentals at the Henry Hub pricing point, in Asia, LNG is bought and sold mainly via long-term contracts linked to the price of oil that is high at the moment. In Europe, natural gas and LNG prices are a combination of the above. Currently, LNG prices for October 2013 are in the $15-16/mmbtu range for Japan and Korea; $11-12/mmbtu for Europe and $3.50-4/mmbtu for the US (natural gas). Clearly, Asian LNG buyers face a market that is skewed against them.
To assess how long this is likely to continue, a review of the supply/demand balance is useful. Currently, LNG receiving terminals are coming up faster than export terminals. According to PFC Energy, global regasification (import) capacity was 608 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) at the end of 2011, with Asia accounting for roughly 50 per cent. Global liquefaction (export) capacity was 278.7 mtpa, indicating robust demand. Global LNG trade in 2012 was 239 million tonne, marginally down from 242 million tonne in 2011 (when the Fukushima accident led to a closure of most of Japan's nuclear power facilities and an atypical increase in its LNG consumption). The overwhelming majority of market participants are extremely bullish about traded LNG volumes (a proxy for LNG demand) going forward. Energy advisers Wood Mackenzie forecast that traded LNG volumes will rise to 440 mtpa by 2025, and most analysts contend that LNG supply capacity will increase to match this demand. The question then is, when will the market tip from excess demand to excess supply?
The focus of new supply growth are proposed facilities in Australia, the US, Canada, Mozambique and Russia. At stake is a lucrative prize - uncontracted Asian demand that could rise to 90-100 mtpa by the turn of the decade. At the moment, there is competition between all of these players to bring LNG production to the market before others. The following are in the race.
Australia has a two-decade-long history of exporting LNG and has six projects under different phases of construction, with a combined capacity of 52.8 mtpa. Exports will start from three LNG projects operated by Santos, Chevron and the BG Group in 2015, with others following suit in 2016 and 2018.
The surge in US shale gas production has transformed the country into an LNG exporter. Four facilities with 46.5 mtpa of export capacity have now been granted federal approval to ship LNG to countries not covered by US free trade agreements. The first, Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana, will begin initial exports LNG in late 2015, while the others will do so in 2018.
Canada: British Columbia (BC) has emerged as the destination of choice for proposed LNG export facilities that seek to take advantage of the surfeit of natural gas being produced in Alberta and BC. The two most advanced proposals for LNG export plants are the Shell-led LNG Canada project and the Chevron-led Kitimat LNG project. They represent a combined export capacity of 27.5 mtpa and final investments decisions (FIDs) will be taken in 2015. Energy majors Petronas and BG will also take FIDs by 2014 to 2016 for their projects, and exports will begin after 2018.
Mozambique: ENI and Anadarko have discovered 100 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Rovuma Basin in offshore East Africa. The companies have announced the joint development of an LNG plant that could eventually be the largest in the world with a total capacity of 50 mtpa. The first two LNG trains will have a capacity of 10 mtpa and will cost $10 billion. The investment is substantial for Mozambique, (gross domestic product $12.8 billion/2011), a country with no prior experience of large-scale hydrocarbon development that aims to start exporting in 2018.
Russia already exports LNG to the East Asian markets from Gazprom's 11-mtpa Sakhalin LNG terminal. State-owned energy giant Rosneft is planning another facility on Sakhalin Island in partnership with Exxon Mobil, with an initial capacity of 5 mtpa and first exports in 2018. Novatek's Yamal facility, in which Total of France has a 20 per cent stake, will have an initial capacity of 5.5 mtpa and aims to start exports in 2016.
Aggregating these projects indicates that 54.4 mtpa of capacity is slated to be complete by 2015-2016. This figure is corroborated by the International Gas Union (IGU) in its World LNG Report (2011), which states that global liquefaction capacity is expected to be 334.9 mtpa by 2016. Assuming IGU's average utilisation rates for liquefaction plants in 2016 of 87.5 per cent and applying standard LNG demand models, the market would see a small surplus of about 1 per cent in 2016. The rest of the large capacity additions we have outlined above will only be complete after 2018. As such, the LNG market will continue to be tight until 2018. This analysis is more optimistic on the supply side and extremely conservative on the demand side.
The other determinant is LNG pricing. Most of the new Australian supply is already committed under long-term contracts to Japan/South Korean buyers who hold equity stakes in these projects. Asian buyers, particularly China and Japan, want to secure new supplies from the other countries on the basis of flexible, hub-based prices, which at current levels would be lower than long-term (15-20 years) oil indexed contracts. However, such a move to hub-based pricing would have a concomitant impact on the ability of companies to finance their LNG liquefaction plants. Greenfield liquefaction plants can cost between $1.5-3.5 billion for each 1 mtpa of capacity. These mega projects can only be financed if a majority of buyers have been tied up in advance at prices that ensure the viable internal rates of return (IRR). Therefore, a shift en masse to a more flexible but considerably cheaper hub-based pricing system will adversely impact the ability of new LNG projects to secure financing/the desired IRR. If fewer facilities get built because of this, then the market will be tight well beyond 2018.
India's nameplate regasification capacity stands at 25 mtpa. Only two receiving terminals (Dahej and Hazira) run at capacity/close to capacity. Including greenfield terminals in Andhra Pradesh and expansions to present facilities, an additional 25 mtpa is in the pipeline over the next five years. In 2012, India imported 13 mtpa of LNG. While India's major LNG buyers are still able to secure term supplies at small discounts to spot prices by signing up larger volumes from projects being constructed in Australia and the US, a flexible hub-based pricing system remains elusive. To gain adequate leverage with suppliers to negotiate this, India needs a global LNG market amply supplied in the near term, higher proportion of LNG cargoes being traded on spot markets and far higher utilisation rates at regasification terminals across Asia.
Hence, when will M/s Moily and Motegi get their buyer's market? My estimate - after five years at the very least. 

Panasonic says it will continue selling plasma TVs in India

Japanese Electronic major Panasonic today said it would retain some models of the plasma TV in India, amid reports that it is exiting the vertical. "Panasonic in India has retained some models in the Plasma category owing to its existing demand in the country," said Panasonic India Managing Director Manish Sharma. International media reports had said Panasonic will exit from the plasma TV business and stop manufacturing at its main plasma screen plant in Amagasaki in western Japan.

As per the reports, the company was making huge loss on plasma TV and as a part of corporate strategy it is opting out from the business. In India, Panasonic sales Plasma, LCD, LED televisions under Viera range. Quoting Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), Sharma said the total demand for flat panel TVs is approximately 8 million and the total flat panel TV market is growing at a 30 to 35 per cent. "Looking at the current situation, we see that a product that brings together convenience and convergence of factors like connectivity and entertainment features, thus enhancing a consumers digital lives, becomes a 'sought after' product," he added.

Indian history in Tokyo temple

The Renkoji Temple is a lot smaller than other grand Buddhist shrines in Japan. In front of the gate, in a very serene setting, is the bust of Netaji. Aseem Chhabra reports from Tokyo. 

On all my travels abroad, I always look for signs of India. Last week while I was in Tokyo, I heard about a Buddhist shrine where there is a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. I knew I had to go there.
Finding online directions to the shrine was not difficult. Despite the language issues, it is easy to find online information about Tokyo in English.
Last year I had taken a couple of friends on a day trip outside Tokyo, to the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s grave. It had taken us a while to find our way. Netaji’s statue is in Tokyo itself. So it had to be easier to get there.

For various reasons I was only able to go to the Renkoji Temple -- where the statue stands -- on the last day of my trip. TheTokyo subway system is quite easy to follow.
Despite the very foreign sounding Japanese names, the subway maps are available in English. There are announcements in Japanese and English. And if one is lucky, one can find an English speaker willing to give directions. The Japanese people struggle with their English, but they are very friendly and polite.
My friend Ben Lopez and I took the Maranouchi Line to the Higashi-Koenji station. Upon exiting, we took a left turn and immediately ran into a South Asian-looking man, who was handing out flyers for an Indian restaurant called Indus.
Turns out Mithilesh Sharma was Nepali, from outside Kathmandu. He had been in Japan for six years. Before that he worked in Noida, outside Delhi. His Hindi was definitely better than his English.

Line Corp ropes in Katrina Kaif

Japan-based Line Corporation, a provider of instant messaging service, has roped in Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif to be its brand ambassador for India. Since its launch as a free call and messaging app in June 2011, Line has over 260 million users in 230 countries, including 10 million in India.

The company has also partnered with Sony India to pre-install its instant call and messaging application on select Sony smartphones. Going forward, the company plans to localise its app in Hindi and Tamil. It would also provide localised Bollywood content to its subscribers by partnering with makers of upcoming feature films Krrish 3 and Dhoom 3.

New Honda Jazz and City diesel India launch confirmed

Honda Cars India Limited is soon to bring in a diesel variant of their entry mid-level sedan, City. It will be the new City which will get the diesel engine, and not the existing variant. Apart from this, Honda will also get the new Jazz to India in both petrol and diesel engine variants.
new honda city diesel render


Slated to be launched in Japan at the end of this year, 2014 City sedan will be making its way into India in early 2014. Another new car is in the making in the form of a revamped Jazz, which is already launched in Japan, for a starting price of JPY 1.26 million (approximately INR 8.35 lakh). Price in India will be lesser as Honda Car India will have increased local content on the new Jazz.

Honda City is in its third generation in the country and has seen favor with buyers in the mid sized sedan segment. New Honda City will receive a complete facelift and will come in with two engines in the form of a 1.5 liter i-VTEC and newly developed 1.5 liter i-DTEC, which powers the Amaze sedan. It is the latter which is much in demand. The render above is credit to abesselingSVF’s.


Honda is confident of extensive growth during the remaining of 2013. The company is pushing ahead sales of Honda Amaze in both diesel and petrol guises in markets of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Vidharba where customers are both price conscious and demand a vehicle that is highly fuel efficient. Honda Amaze is a winner on both counts delivering 25 kmpl and coming in at a competitive pricing. Apart from this, they recently launched the new Brio Exclusive Edition, to capture the attention of buyers as India enters the auspicious festive season.

MP Baijayant Panda heads an Indian Parliamentary Delegation team to Japan

Senior BJD leader and Kendrapara Loksabha MP Shri Baijayant Panda has left yesterday for Japan heading with an Indian Parliamentary delegation team to participate on a dialogue called ‘India-Japan Relations: Opportunities and Challenges’. The theme for this year dialogue is infrastructure and urban development. The dialogue has been organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with support from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Japan.


During the visit, the Indian Parliamentary Delegation team is scheduled to visit the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism to understand the infrastructure initiatives (public transport, road and port) are being undertaken in Japan. The delegation team will also meet with the other officials to study the construction and operation of the Metro Rail running system in Japan, the waste disposal and recycling systems in Japan and the initiatives in disaster management.

MP Shri Panda will deliver a public lecture on India - Japan bilateral relations on the 9th of October at Japan and will focus on the Infrastructure and Urban Development. Japanese counterpart Mr. Toshihiro Nikai, MP, Chairman, Comprehensive Research Commission on the Establishment of Disaster Resilient Japan, and Mr. Nobutaka Machimura, Chairman of the Japan-India Parliamentary Friendship League will meet and share thoughts with the Indian delegates.
Other members of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation team include Dr. Ajay Kumar (Lok Sabha, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (P)), Mr. Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo (Lok Sabha, Biju Janata Dal) and Mr. Viswanathan Perumal (Lok Sabha, Indian National Congress).

India and Japan to collaborate on information and communication technology

India and Japan have decided to set up a working group to identify specific areas in information and communication technology (ICT) where they can collaborate - in areas such as cyber security.

Masahiro Yoshizaki, vice minister for policy coordination, ministry of internal affairs and communications, Japan, and Anil Kaushal, member of Telecom Commission of India, signed a joint statement Thursday, which said the thrust area would be development of technology and standards.

"We wish to cover many topics in ICT under this partnership. The working group will implement the intent of the joint statement," Kondo Masanori, Director for International Cooperation Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan, told IANS in an interview.

Masanori said each country has its own expertise and they are looking at a mutual collaboration.
"Basically we have identified three key areas of specific work - cyber security, disaster management and capacity building," added Kaushal.
Masanori said Japan would look forward to Indian collaboration in combating cyber attacks. "Every day there are numerous cyber attacks. We are looking forward to combating those."
Talking separately to IANS, Kaushal said Japan is much ahead in broadband technology compared to India. "We have much to learn from them."

There are over 50 Japanese companies in India in the ICT filed. Some renowned names include Fujitsu India, Olympus (India), Ricoh India, Panasonic Industrial Asia, Sony India and Sumitomo Electric Industries.
There are also many Indian companies operating in Japan, mostly in software development.

Both the countries are keen on private sector collaboration as well, he said.
Talking about the importance of ICT in disaster management, Masanori said India has evinced interest to learn disaster mitigation through ICT from Japan. " The Indian government is keen to adopt our disaster mitigation strategy through ICT. We are also ready to cooperate and share."

Japan, which is very prone to earthquake, manages to mitigate natural disaster to an extent using ICT. It collects data through censor-linked function, do data analysis and sends out alert to people. "Data dissemination is very important. We have to build the entire eco-system."

Kaushal said it is important for India to learn disaster management, especially after the Uttarakhand floods in which thousands died.

The two countries will also look forward to mutually beneficial collaboration on international platforms like the International Telecommunication Union and the Asia Pacific Telecommunity.

Line hopes to reach 20 million users in India by end of 2014

The Japanese Internet company that launched the cross messaging application Line in India last year, has stated that they will double its app users in India, from 10 to 20 million by the end of this year. Also, Line will now be endorsed by B-Town's leggy lass Katrina Kaif, making the app all the more popular. The ad showing Kat will be featured this week.

Currently, more than 10 million users have already registered the application in India. The application allows the user to make voice calls, instant messaging, share video, audio, photographs and stickers.

Line Corporation CEO Akira Morikawa said, "The focus this year is on increasing the number of users. We are confident of crossing the 20 million-mark before this year-end."

Not revealing much about the additional features of Line, the CEO said that they would soon bring e-commerce service and music to the app.

Talking about the user base of Line, it has 230 million users globally, with 20 per cent users in Japan itself. Also, the corporate has huge markets in Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and Spain.

Talking about the growth of Line in India, Akira said, "We have already invested about one billion yen (Rs. 62.98 crore) in India on various campaigns and setting up base Mumbai. We are in discussions for partnerships with telecom operators and handset makers for our service. We haven't experienced such rapid growth in any other country to date like we have in India and we will continue to focus here."           

India invites Japanese firms to invest in healthcare

Aiming at becoming one of the global manufacturing hubs, besides being a large healthcare market, India has invited Japanese companies to invest in country's healthcare sector, according to a report published by news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). "I will urge the Japanese industry in the area of healthcare services to actually look at innovation in India and set up those innovation hubs in India and manufacture devices in India, which will serve not only the 1.2 billion population in India, but you also have access to world market," said Communications & IT Minister of India Mr Kapil Sibal, while addressing a India-Japan seminar on medical equipment and services in the country's capital. "You can serve Africa from here, you can serve Middle East from here and you can also serve the West," he said. "Within my ministry we have provided lot of incentives in this area. If you want to set up clusters, you can get 50 percent subsidy," Mr Sibal was reported as saying by PTI. Under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS), India will provide up to $1.61 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) in benefits to the industry during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) for promoting production of electronics products and components. To woo foreign investors, MSIPS will also provide incentives for relocation of units from abroad. Mr Sibal also informed the Japanese participants that the Indian government will move a legislation in the Parliament, which will look at providing ISO certification for medical devices aiding devices made in India to be sold globally, PTI reported. Japan was represented by its Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Mr Toshimitsu Motegi at the event. Also, both the countries have agreed on setting up a joint working group, which will meet in November this year. - See more at: http://www.biospectrumasia.com/biospectrum/news/197605/india-invites-japanese-firms-invest-healthcare#.UlKlzRBr_h4

Read more at: http://www.biospectrumasia.com/biospectrum/news/197605/india-invites-japanese-firms-invest-healthcare#.UlKlzRBr_h4

Under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme, India will provide up to $1.61 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) in benefits to the industry during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) for promoting production of electronics products and components.
 
Aiming at becoming one of the global manufacturing hubs, besides being a large healthcare market, India has invited Japanese companies to invest in country's healthcare sector, according to a report published by news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). "I will urge the Japanese industry in the area of healthcare services to actually look at innovation in India and set up those innovation hubs in India and manufacture devices in India, which will serve not only the 1.2 billion population in India, but you also have access to world market," said Communications & IT Minister of India Mr Kapil Sibal, while addressing a India-Japan seminar on medical equipment and services in the country's capital.
 
"You can serve Africa from here, you can serve Middle East from here and you can also serve the West," he said. "Within my ministry we have provided lot of incentives in this area. If you want to set up clusters, you can get 50 percent subsidy," Mr Sibal was reported as saying by PTI. Under the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS), India will provide up to $1.61 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) in benefits to the industry during the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) for promoting production of electronics products and components. To woo foreign investors, MSIPS will also provide incentives for relocation of units from abroad.
 
Mr Sibal also informed the Japanese participants that the Indian government will move a legislation in the Parliament, which will look at providing ISO certification for medical devices aiding devices made in India to be sold globally, PTI reported. Japan was represented by its Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Mr Toshimitsu Motegi at the event. Also, both the countries have agreed on setting up a joint working group, which will meet in November this year.
 

Reliance mega-cement plant to start in MP

Reliance Infra's first five million tonnes per annum capacity cement plant will be commissioned this month in Madhya Pradesh, a company statement said here Monday.

The mega-project was commissioned in a record 22 months, five months ahead of schedule, offering state-of-the-art next-gen facility to serve the central, eastern and northern cement markets.

It has been implemented at a capital outlay of approximately Rs.3,000 crore, setting a new benchmark in terms of capex efficiency, nearly 25 percent lower than comparable recent transaction values.

 

"We are delighted to add the cement business to our portfolio of high growth infrastructure businesses, serving the long term needs of our country. Reliance Cement will add the manufacturing mix to our existing range of annuity infrastructure businesses across power, roads and metro rail systems," said Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. Chairman Anil D. Ambani on the new project which is expected to contribute annual revenues of around Rs.3,000 crore.

Reliance Cement will deliver a next-gen experience to customers in terms of product quality and customer services with processes like manufacturing, sales and distribution, customer service and administration fully automated to ensure high product and service quality.

 

The project is conceptualized with waste heat recovery system right from the start - generating over 10MW power from the heat that would be otherwise wasted.

The cement plant is designed and built at par with the international standards to make it one of the most energy efficient plants in the country with highest environmental standards.

Last year, Reliance Cement launched in the Maharashtra markets with supplies from its Buribori plant which has a capacity of half million metric tonnes per annum. It has already established itself as a favoured brand in a short span.

With the new plant in Madhya Pradesh, Reliance Cement plans to expand its presence in the central, eastern and northern India markets.

 

Among the unique features of the Reliance Cement are introducing Uniform Particle Size Distribution technology which produces cement with a high fineness and rapid setting property.

This is turn helps build homes faster as cement setting time is usually the main cause of delay. Reliance Cement sets faster than other cements and simultaneously is stronger.

Coming in 50 kg Laminated Polypropylene bags, Reliance Cement bags have special seal which makes it impossible to tamper. This also ensures no wastage and the cement is moisture free and fresh irrespective of the weather conditions.

Toyota India sales during September 2013 see increase of 10 percent

During the last month, the company sold a total of 15,795 units, as against 14,291 units in September 2012. Exports during the past month stood at 3,780 units which primarily constituted the Etios series. In domestic markets the picture was much the same. The company sales reached a pitch of 12,015 units as against 12,115 units in September 2012.
These sales results were due to severe sluggish auto markets which have been experiencing falling sales since the start of this year. Higher import costs, a depreciating rupee and other relentless economic constraints are all having an adverse effect on sales both within the country and where exports are concerned. The company is however optimistic of the upcoming festive season to add some cheer to their sales charts.
Commenting on the sales in Sept 2013, Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Marketing and Commercial said “The market continues to be sluggish. We hope that the market will improve with the upcoming festive season.”

Read more at http://www.rushlane.com/toyota-india-sales-during-sep-1291386.html#7uWitr3Zu3igqSB8.99

Toyota Kirloskar Motors Private Limited, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan has registered a 10% increase in total sales during the past month of September 2013.During the last month, the company sold a total of 15,795 units, as against 14,291 units in September 2012. Exports during the past month stood at 3,780 units which primarily constituted the Etios series. In domestic markets the picture was much the same. The company sales reached a pitch of 12,015 units as against 12,115 units in September 2012.
 
These sales results were due to severe sluggish auto markets which have been experiencing falling sales since the start of this year. Higher import costs, a depreciating rupee and other relentless economic constraints are all having an adverse effect on sales both within the country and where exports are concerned. The company is however optimistic of the upcoming festive season to add some cheer to their sales charts.
 
Commenting on the sales in Sept 2013, Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Marketing and Commercial said “The market continues to be sluggish. We hope that the market will improve with the upcoming festive season.”

JNU prof to be honoured for promoting India-Japan ties

Lalima Varma, Professor of Japanese Studies at Jawharlal Nehru University here will be conferred Japan Foreign Minister's commendation tomorrow for promoting mutual understanding between the two countries.

Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida will felicitate Varma at a function at the Japanese Embassy here, a statement from the Embassy said.

Varma has studied and researched for more than 30 years on India-Japan relations, Japanese diplomacy, history, social affairs and problems, it said.

The Foreign Minister's Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups for outstanding achievements in international fields to acknowledge their contributions in promoting friendship between Japan and other countries.

India, Japan pact for cooperation in ICT sector

Dialogue will also look at promoting public-private- partnership in Information and Communications Technology sector to strengthen business ties

India and Japan today entered into a cooperation agreement in the field ICT to focus on areas such as broadband, traffic management and tele-medicine.

The dialogue will also look at promoting public-private- partnership (PPP) in Information and Communications Technology sector to strengthen business ties.

Besides, the two sides emphasised upon the need to develop technology standards and strengthening cyber security.

"In India, we are in discussion for such ties. India has shown interest in disaster mitigation through ICT tools and application of ICT in traffic management, which is used in Japan," Japan Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Vice Minister for Policy Coordination Masahiro Yoshizaki said.

He said India needs to develop infrastructure to make this happen and added that to overcome these issues, cross- functional cooperation is required.

Telecom Commission Member (Technology) Anil Kaushal said: "Today, we signed ICT cooperation with Japan to use each other's expertise in areas that can help common people like tele-medicine, traffic management and so on."

He added: "Japan is very good in broadband. They would like to extend their experience in extension of broadband services in India."

Both the countries will deliberate on ICT issues for two days and after that will work on immediate priorities.

CMAI Association of India President N K Goyal said the industry hopes this partnership would help bring modern, rich ICT equipment from Japan.

"Also we can offer low-cost GSM equipment, IT-based electronic equipment and cyber security to Japan," he added.

CMAI Association is a professional registered association for promotion of Indian IT and telecom sector in India.

Japan allows Air India to fly Dreamliners there

Dropping its condition for a "safety talk" on Indian aviation standards, Japan has finally allowed Air India to fly its Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the country. AI had for many months been seeking nod to fly its latest plane to Japan.

But ever since the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) raised "significant safety concerns (SSC)" over the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), Japan did not allow AI to fly the new plane there and also sought information on the Boeing 777s the airline uses currently on the Tokyo route.

"Japan wanted to have a safety talk with the DGCA before giving the nod to an Indian carrier for flying for any new type of aircraft there. However after doing an audit of the DGCA August, ICAO dropped its safety concerns for India. After that there was no point in having safety meetings with individual countries as ICAO represents all the countries. This would have been an endless process," said a senior official.

Indian aviation authorities conveyed this stand in plain terms to their Japanese counterparts during an ICAO meet in Canada last week. Following this stern message from India, Japan finally agreed to give AI the nod to fly the Dreamliners there.

A senior AI official confirmed that the airline had got this permission. "We currently have eight B-787s. While one of them is used for domestic flights, six are flying to overseas destinations and one is kept standby. We are getting the ninth Dreamliner in a day or two. This plane will be deployed on the Japan route from the coming winter schedule," the official said. The airline will announce the dates for Dreamliner flight launch to Japan in coming days.

The market of Indian films in Japan

Aamir Khan-starrer '3 Idiots' not just gave the $2 billion Indian film industry a "foothold" in Japan but also opened up viewers to a "comparatively traditional" affair like Shah Rukh Khan's 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan', says Akifumi Sugihara of Japan's 101-year-old production studio. The number of releases will soon double, he predicts.

 

Sugihara, executive vice president (International Operation Department) of Japan's oldest film production and distribution firm Nikkatsu Corporation, first came to India in 2011 to attend the Mumbai Film Mart, an annual business-to-business platform at the Mumbai Film Festival.

 

Since then, his company has released four Indian films in Japan - '3 Idiots', which is still showing, 'Don 2', 'Ek Tha Tiger' and 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'. This month he will be busy releasing 'Makkhi' in his country.

 

In an e-mail interview, Sugihari talked about the market of Indian films in Japan and how increased co-productions between the two countries can provide "a big stimulus for Asia to form a new highly potential entertainment market".

Honda in full throttle as 2-wheeler sales soar

Shinji Aoyama is not entirely surprised with Honda reporting its highest ever two-wheeler sales in India.

On Tuesday, the company announced that it had sold 3.29 lakh motorcycles and scooters in September, a 35 per cent jump from last year.

“Demand for Honda products is so good that we are able to clock these numbers. The new plant in Bangalore is also helping us meet this demand,” Honda’s Operating Officer told Business Line over telephone from Japan.

Top priorities

Aoyama is no stranger to India and headed Honda’s two-wheeler operations here till a couple of years ago. It was during his tenure that the Japanese automaker parted ways with its ally of 26 years, the Hero group, in 2010.

Honda was perhaps producing half its present numbers at that point and Aoyama had then reiterated that it was important for the company to “hurry up” and do a whole lot of things, especially with more India-specific models.

“The priorities are new models, expanding sales channels, strengthening the vendor network and increasing manpower across the chain,” he said.

Building capacity

Today, as Operating Officer worldwide, Aoyama’s priority is to create capacity to be able to meet the growing demand in India. Bangalore is the latest addition to the company’s plants after Manesar (Haryana) and Tapukara in Rajasthan. By the end of this fiscal, Honda’s total capacity would be four million units from these three facilities. A fourth is scheduled to be commissioned in Gujarat though there has been no official confirmation from the company yet.

Honda has already sold 1.7 million units here for the first half of this fiscal, a near 25 per cent jump from 1.35 million in the same period last year. Its Activa scooter still has a waiting list in some parts of the country and is its biggest brand success. While there have been talks doing the rounds that the company has overstocked motorcycles at its dealerships, rivals concede that it is on schedule with a carefully thought out strategy.

Way forward

“Honda has planned its production well with capacities of 1.2-1.8 million units in each plant,” an industry official said. Gujarat will also follow this trajectory with three more facilities likely to follow over the next six years. In the process, Honda will have created an ecosystem in each plant to ensure an optimal business model for labour, sourcing supplies and costs.

Its former partner, the Hero group, continues to be the market leader with projected sales of over six million units in 2013-14. Honda had earlier indicated that it was aiming for the top slot in India by 2020 by which time its overall production would be 10 million two-wheelers.

Globally, it is targeting over 25 million motorcycles by 2017 and India will play a pivotal role in this ambitious plan. Aoyama had recently said the top position in India could even be achieved by 2015-16, assuming that the market would see flat growth till then, an unlikely possibility.

India, Japan launch ICT dialogue

India and Japan Thursday launched the first information and communication technology (ICT) public-private-partnership dialogue to strengthen collaboration between the two countries in the sector. In a joint statement, Masahiro Yoshizaki, vice minister for policy coordination, ministry of internal affairs and communications, and Anil Kaushal, member of Telecom Commision of India, said they would put thrust in developing technology and standards, cyber security being a major cause for concern for every nation. Yoshizaki said, "In India, we are in discussion for such ties."

He said India has shown interest in disaster mitigation through ICT tools and application of ICT in traffic management, which is used in Japan. "But the country first needs to put the infrastructure in place to make this happen. To overcome these issues, cross-functional cooperation is required," he said. N.K. Goyal, president, CMAI Association of India, said the industry hoped this partnership would help bring modern, rich ICT equipment from Japan. "Also we can offer low-cost GSM equipment, IT-based electronic equipment and cyber security to Japan." CMAI Association is a platform for promotion of Indian IT and telecom sector.

A Japanese assignment

Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to Japan, Ashwani Kumar, on what his new job entails and other issues

Ashwani Kumar, former Union Law Minister, who quit some months ago following the controversy over his Ministry vetting a CBI report on coal allocation, has been appointed Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to Japan by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He speaks to The Hindu about his new role. Excerpts from the interview:

You have been appointed as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to Japan. What is your mission in Japan in the context of the new assignment?

The mandate given to me is to continue and reinforce at the highest levels the engagement between India and Japan. The idea is to send a special signal to Japan that India attaches great value and significance to this relationship, especially in light of the forthcoming visit of the Imperial Majesties to India. I will meeting the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister there along with CEOs of leading Japanese companies.

How did the 50 billion currency swap announced in G20 by the Prime Minister come about, what is the background?

The world knows and so do we, Japan has huge capital and technological resources and it has throughout the last several years been very generous in terms of lending of funds. Considering the state of our economy and the challenges we are facing, raising the swap arrangement from $15billion to $50 billion has had immediate positive impact on the rupee. I think that this one particular gesture by Japan in itself shows the kind of warmth and importance that it attaches to this relationship.

Do you think that at a time when America is widely being seen as withdrawing liquidity they had pumped after 2008, Japan could play contrarian by pushing more liquidity, which it is doing now. This is also helping India. Is it planned or just a coincidence?

The fact remains that the Japanese also realise that after China, India is the single largest market in this region. It is part of a conscious policy, as per what I can make out, within Japan that they would like to diversify their global economic engagement without necessarily sending a negative signal to China but in order to spread its risk wider. India figures prominently in this strategy.

Today, in India, 926 Japanese companies operate but in contrast there are 10,000 Japanese companies in China. There is a difference of 1:10 in terms of level of economic engagement. The Indian market is second to none. In fact, in certain terms of purchasing power, the Indian market is even stronger than China. Japan would like India to become a large and important investment destination for Japanese companies.

Is the higher level engagement with Japan also part of the Indian strategy of working economically more with the East?

I would like to stress that our engagement with Japan is not limited to strong and vigorous economic ties but this relationship has now become a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional one. It encompasses defence co-operation, joint naval exercises as part of the co-operation, the security of the sea base which sends the right kind of signals in order to ensure in piracy and terrorism, interests of the both countries are jointly protected.

Will the Japanese CEOs there be committing more capital at a time India needs more capital for infrastructure sector?

We need Japan to collaborate with India particularly in the development of the infrastructure sector. Japan has to help us in both technology material resources and human resources. And no country in the world, in my view, has today greater competitive advantage than Japan. To start with, we need to re-invigorate the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and the dedicated freight corridor. These are flagship projects involving lakhs of crores of investment. We need to address the hitches pointed out by the Japanese side in the execution of these projects. I talked to the Japanese side, that these are linked to Official Development Assistance (ODA) finances. And one of the requirements of financing under this ODA scheme is that contracts have to be given to Japanese companies. In our processes, we can only award contracts under competitive mechanism during the tender processes. So we need more Japanese companies to bid for us to comply with our tender processes which at present, is not happening. We need to have three to four equally competitive bidders.

During the Indo-Japanese business and economic working group meeting recently, the Japanese Trade Minister and Economic Minister talked about studying the feasibility of setting up a Japanese Electronic City in India. What is your opinion on this?

The electronic city is a need and we welcome it. I talked about Japanese clusters, Japanese villages and small cities where the Japanese expatriates can live in the same environment at one place. The school for Japanese children, the karaoke, the music, the food, everything is very important for them. We have established one such cluster at Neemrana in Rajasthan and the Haryana government is willing to give land for another hub near Faridabad and Sohna. The idea is to tell them we welcome them whole heartedly. We would do all that we can to make this relationship mutually beneficial.

Coming to your own circumstance in which you quit as the Law and Justice Minister, can we now assume that things are back to normal? How did the PM choose you for this new assignment?

The new assignment has nothing to do with my resignation from the Cabinet. My resignation was on count of the fact that the Opposition had stalled Parliament and I thought that in order to avoid any unnecessary controversy it will be better for me to resign to allow Parliament to function. That was the only reason for me to quit. As part of duties of the Law Minister, it was my function to advise any wing of the government on any important matter before the Court. In its affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the CBI has stated the suggestions received during discussions in my office where the Attorney General, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) and other officers were present, no changes of any kind had been made to the CBI investigations into Coalgate. The central theme of investigation remains unaffected. There were minor changes that were also mentioned in the CBI affidavit.

Therefore, you think the Supreme Court was convinced that no substantial changes were made?

The Supreme Court will decide what it has to decide. But I can tell you the apex court has not said a single word against me in its written order. It is well settled that the courts speak through their orders and not through their observations.

Do you feel the Supreme Court has said nothing against you?

I was never charged. There was no accusation against me in the court. I mean, I am not before the court. Somebody said that this particular consultation should not have taken place. I am saying that under the projection of business of transaction rules of the government, the CBI can go only to the Law Ministry for advice as long as the advice does not materially and adversely affect the investigation, something the CBI had told the court has not happened.

Do you think that the Attorney General in some sense could have avoided saying that he had not read the report at that time?

The least said the better. Let my silence speak for myself.