VOA标准英语2011--India Primed to Invest Abroad

India Primed to Invest Abroad

 

Investments by Indian companies in foreign countries have risen sharply as they look for newer markets and resources to fuel a growing economy.

For nearly 150 years, Harrisons Malayalam has grown rubber and tea on massive plantations¹ in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. But Managing Director Pankaj Kapoor says that despite the growing demand for both commodities, the company cannot develop new land in India.

"To get land, say 10,000 hectares of land at one place, whichever be the state, is next to impossible, it's not available," noted² Kapoor.

The company now plans to invest millions of dollars to develop rubber plantations in Africa.

Kapoor says they have scouted³ for land in countries like Ethiopia and Ghana.

"It's good to get the land in African countries, because the governments are very keen to get the investors⁴ overseas, they have large land, unutilized," Kapoor added. "We can bring in the technology and we can bring in the money."

Harrisons Malayalam is just one of scores of Indian companies which are pushing overseas in search of resources such as land and coal, newer markets, or technology.

This picture shows the Tata Steel France Rail plant in the French northeastern town of Hayange, during the inauguration5 day of this rail facility on September 29, 2011.

Between April 2010 and March 2011 Indian companies invested nearly $44 billion overseas, more than double the previous year.

They have gone to Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia in sectors⁶ ranging from farming, pharmaceuticals⁷ and energy, to telecommunications and infrastructure⁸. D.K. Joshi, chief economist⁹ at the Crisil consulting firm in Mumbai, says the growing investments are driven by several factors.

"Indian corporates have been cash rich and on top of that the foreign exchange regulations were liberalized so that allowed Indians to go out," Joshi noted. "The valuations of foreign companies after the global financial crisis, they were pretty good, so it made sense to go out and acquire companies to expand the global footprint."

The overseas investors include some of India's biggest groups, including: Reliance Industries, the Tata conglomerate¹⁰, the Essar Group and Bharti Airtel. The Tata conglomerate now earns more than half its revenues overseas.

Chandrajit Banerjee, who heads the Confederation of Indian Industry, says Indian companies have become increasingly confident as they have grown in scale and size since India liberalized its economy two decades ago.

"They became ambitious, their aspiration¹² levels went up, and therefore they started looking offshore," said Banerjee. "Indian industry has today become much more competitive and therefore they are being able to acquire, they are able to match technology, they are able to export, they are able to invest."

Economists¹³ also say that as decision-making slows down in India in the wake of high profile corruption¹⁴ scandals, many businesses prefer to invest in what they call more "predictable" markets. A survey by the Federation¹¹ of Indian Chambers¹⁵ of Commerce and Industry suggests that business confidence in India has plunged¹⁶ due to high interest rates, frustration¹⁷ with governance and problems with issues such as land acquisition.

However, economist Joshi warns that the pace of overseas investments may slow down in the coming months due to concerns of another recession in Western countries.

"I think the companies will try to preserve cash, because their margins¹⁸ are already coming under pressure, and I think there is also a fear that if the global economy crashes again, then I think there will be a credit freeze and you will require money," Joshi added. "So everybody is in a cautious mode right now, so they are likely to go a bit slow in their global acquisitions unless the dust settles on the global environment once again."

Meanwhile, the government says it wants to speed up the pace of economic reforms in such areas as labor¹⁹ laws and land acquisition to encourage Indian companies to invest more money at home.

1 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 scouted   

寻找，侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 )； 物色（优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等）

参考例句：

• They scouted around for a shop that was open late. 他们四处寻找，看看还有没有夜间营业的商店。
• They scouted around for a beauty parlour. 他们四处寻找美容院。

4 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

5 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

6 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

10 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

11 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

12 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

13 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

16 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

17 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

18 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

19 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。