World Economic Forum Davos 2012: Yum! awarded 'best foreign company in China'

DAVOS: The Chinese new year may have kept most of the Chinese bigwigs away from the snow at Davos - or as someone pointed out, they'd much rather hobnob with the global elite in Tianjin in summer - but it didn't stop China Central Television, the state-owned media company from making a splash with its award ceremony for the "Best foreign company" in China - on the theme of foreign companies taking root in China, for their contributions to the Chinese market.

And guess who's right up there with the likes of L'Oreal's global chief and HSBC's China head being honoured? Muktesh Pant, chief marketing officer of the US restaurant group Yum! walked away with the best company award.

Pant may not be familiar to younger readers, he's one of the India-born global successes who headed Reebok in India some years ago, and is now based in the US.

An Indian company may take a while to grab a share of the Chinese market or get awards from the government, but Indians are right there where the action is.