Coup and after: India Inc tunes in to gauge impact
Even though Indian companies have a large presence in Thailand with some vital linkages to daily operations, the recent coup by the army is not expected to have a major impact for Indian units, officials of the companies said on Wednesday.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: Even though Indian companies have a large presence in Thailand with some vital linkages to daily operations, the recent coup by the army is not expected to have a major impact for Indian units, officials of the companies said on Wednesday.
Thailand’s military coup leader Sondhi Boonyarataklin took control of Thailand’s key government installations in a bloodless coup at a time when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in the US to address the United Nations General Assembly.
Mr Boonyarataklin, who is also chief of the country’s armed forces, has said that the Thai Political Reform Council, under the leadership of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, aimed at taking control of Thailand and is expected to hold elections “soon” for a new democratically elected government.
“As of now there is no effect,” said Sanjay Choudhry, a spokesperson for Tata Steel. India’s largest private steel company last year bought Thailand’s Millennium Steel for about $150m.
While senior officials of the Aditya Birla group — which has the largest exposure in Thailand among Indian companies — declined to talk about the impact of Tuesday’s coup, the group’s spokesperson said the conglomerate has always emphasised on being “good corporate citizen in Thailand, we (always) deal directly with the government only.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The Birlas large exposure in the south-east Asian country includes six companies and a joint venture company, all mainly in the chemicals and textiles businesses.The companies in the Birla fold are Thai Rayon, Indo Thai Synthetics, Century Textiles, Thai Acrylic Fibre, Thai Carbon Black and Aditya Birla Chemicals. Thai Peroxide, is a joint venture company with US-based FMC. Recently the Aditya Birla group merged its chemical operations into one entity to consolidate operations.
The Indian auto industry which depends on supply of critical components from Thailand, was careful about the developments. Honda Siel Cars India, which imports completely-knocked-down kits for its City, Civic and the Accord models, said it was monitoring the situation.
Honda officials said their Thai plant was shut down for a single shift on Wednesday morning, as a precautionary measure. “Honda Siel Cars India is closely monitoring the situation in Thailand and the impact, if any, on Honda’s Asian and Thai operations,” the company said. “As of now, the situation appears calm and there has been minimum impact on our operations,” it added.
The other major car maker, Toyota, which imports engines for its Innova model, from Thailand, has not been impacted as “the plant is functioning normally.” Carmakers have said that as long as the government doesn’t obstruct trade, they won’t be impacted.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
