| India is more important to us than China - The Independent |
| 04-01-2008 |
China now; India next. This
will be the year when the eyes of the world will be on China -
the Games, of course, but also the country's pivotal point in
the world economy, with Chinese demand surging on through the
global downturn but also driving commodity prices to
ever-greater heights. But it will be a year, too, when we will
hear much more of that other awakening giant, India. It will,
after all, be the year when the Indian company, Tata, is set
to get control of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford. Talks on
the details are taking place right now. It took over Corus,
itself formed out of British Steel, last year. Can the Indians
make a go of these British icons where the previous owners
failed? If they can, it will be not so much a case of the
empire striking back, but rather the empire rescuing its
former rulers. It occurred to me after a visit to India over
the Christmas holiday, that from a British perspective, as
opposed to an American one, what happens in India over the
next decade will be even more important than what happens to
China. We are certainly more prepared to have Indian companies
invest in the UK, for we feel at home with India in a way that
we don't with China. |