The Times of India reported this week that Amazon.com is set to launch services in India next year. The challenges are considerable but so are the opportunities.

The biggest set of difficulties for the e-commerce giant is presented by the limitations of Indian infrastructure, on which goods delivery is dependent. Beyond that, consumer credit card usage is not as widespread as in other markets; and regulatory requirements demand that Amazon will need an Indian partner in order to open shop.

Continue Reading …

There’s an interesting article in Time Magazine this week “Why young entrepreneurs Are Fleeing Russia” which suggests that corruption in Russia – and particularly corruption within official authorities (last month, the Russian Economy Ministry said that in 2010 alone, Russians paid $581 million in bribes to authorities for “security provisions,” an incredible 13 times more than in 2005″) is driving business talent overseas.

India and Russia have a similar score in the ‘Corruption Perceptions Index‘ compiled by Transparency International, and corruption is clearly very much in the news in India at present.

Continue Reading …

So says Philip Lynch , CEO Nomura Asia Holding, reported in The Economic Times today.

Lynch goes on to suggest that Indian Companies are more global than their Chinese counterparts. That’s a bit vague as an observation, but we’re with him in our conviction that the Europe-India linkage is very strong and cultural affinities underly the business and investment story.

Encouraging news for Syngal Corke Wallis’s business model today as UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) released figures showing India as the UK’s 3rd largest inward investor.

The British High Commission in New Dehli has written about the figures here, as has the Times of India here.

A lot of the coverage of business growth and opportunity in ‘New India’ concentrates on the emerging middle class, but some of the most interesting and fast-growing businesses are those targeting  lower income groups.

Continue Reading …