Tata; India's most valuable brand

KOLKATA: Reliance Industries may be India's most valued firm, but diversified conglomerate Tata is be the country's most valuable brand.

The Tata brand had been valued at $ 5.5 billion (nearly Rs 24,200 crore), Tata Sons Executive Director R Gopalakrishnan told reporters at an interactive session here.

"It is probably India's most valuable brand," he said, adding that some magazines had valued the brand at a much higher $ 7.2 billion.

Hitherto a house-hold name in India, Tata has been exporting the brand to foreign shores through big ticket acquisitions, including that of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group Plc in January.

Referring to cross-border acquisitions, Gopalakrishnan said that it was adaptability factor which was of foremost importance for the group.

"Adapting ourselves to them and them with us was the crucial factor which the group adheres to," he said.

The Tata group believed in a `good marriage which would lead to a happy family', he said.

Some of the big-ticket acquisitions made by the Tatas were Corus by Tata Steel, Daewoo by Tata Motors, and Tetley by Tata. Tata Chemicals had also acquired an overseas firm recently.

Asked about the new growth areas for the group, which has interests in steel, IT, automobile, hospitality, food and beverages, retail and telecom, Gopalakrishnan said that telecom, DTH, drug discovery and retail had great potential.

Mukesh Ambani controlled Reliance Industries is India's most valued firm in terms of market capitalisation.