Tatas acquiring Corus is a trnd-setter

LONDON: The growing influence of Asian companies in Europe and the recent acquistion of Corus by Tata Steel has put the West on notice: Asia's Corporate giants are coming, and they're richer and thirstier for success than you think, a leading British daily today said.

In an article titled 'Asian Giants scent blood in the West', The Observer said an army of Indian and Chinese firms is poised to move into Europe and the US. It said a swathe of Indian car makers is now gearing up to expand abroad. India's Mahindra and Mahindra, an old-fashioned family-run group, is readying itself to unroll a swanky new four-by-four vehicle targeted at mid-range American and European consumers, while Tata Motors is pressing ahead with its long-standing vision of a '1 lakh' car costing a mere 1,150 pounds, the newspaper said.

India's Reva's electric cars have sold 2,000 cars in London taking advantage of free parking for ecologically friendly vehicles and a price tag of 7,500 pounds. The paper noted that India's leading telecommunication firms, notably Reliance and Bharti Airtel, are well-run, cash-rich and hungry for acquisitions in the US and Europe. "Don't be surprised if in five years your mobile provider is owned by a Delhi or Mumbai-based corporation.

Then there is Pantaloon, which has transformed the country's retail sector, bringing cheap high quality clothing to the country's penny-pinching consumers. Pantaloon's low-profile founder and CEO Kishore Biyani has already announced his determination to set up camp in Britain," it said.

Just as Tata Steel's Corus deal has shown the company's determination to carve out new markets in the West, it won't be long before rival corporates from India and China begin to show their own acquisitive mettle, the report said.