Blog Posts
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Pitfalls in Emerging Market Investments
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] A recent unsuccessful bid by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Temasek to take a 24% stake in China Eastern Airlines is symptomatic of several pitfalls that exist in large investments in emerging markets. Knowledge@Wharton carries an interesting analysis of that case, a synopsis of which is as follows: “It was a perfect…
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Trading in Futures – Financial Instruments of Mass Destruction?
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The exposure of Indian corporates and banks to derivatives has been receiving a lot of attention lately. For example, see LiveMint (here and here), Financial Express and Economic Times. But, what are some of the key legal considerations that arise in the case of derivative transactions? To examine those, we have…
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Changes in FDI Policy
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] There were some significant changes to the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy earlier this week. The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion issued as many as six press notes on March 12, 2008 (available here). The changes are in the following sectors: 1. Credit Information Companies;2. Commodity Exchanges;3. Industrial Parks;4. Civil…
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India Business: A Few Updates
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] 1. Indian Acquisitions in the United StatesOne of our regular readers, Mohit Gogia, who is a lawyer currently based in New York, brings to our attention a report titled “US-Bound Acquisitions by Indian Companies” that has been prepared by Virtus Global Partners. This report contains a snapshot of Indian acquisitions of…
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Libido can’t dilute Spitzer’s contribution to clean markets
[Posted by Somasekhar Sundaresan] Some sections of Wall Street are in celebration mode. Others are deeply disappointed. Eliot Spitzer, governor of New York, once the fire-spitting crusader attorney general of the State of New York, who had cleaned up the capital market with his incisive prosecution of questionable practices on Wall Street, has owned up…
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Buyouts & Law Firms
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Thus far, I could only imagine law firms being involved in private equity funding and buyouts as legal advisors on deals. But, now it appears that we may begin to witness private equity funding and buyouts OF law firms. For details: Law.com and TimesOnline.
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Hostile Takeovers & Embedded Defences
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The Financial Times reported last week in the context of EADS (the maker of the Airbus aircraft) that “France and Germany are finalising changes to EADS’ corporate by-laws to prevent foreign investors building significant stakes in – or even taking over – Europe’s flagship aerospace and defence company.” The plan is…
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Immediate agenda for reform before SEBI
[Posted by Somasekhar Sundaresan] When a new chairman takes charge at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) the media tends to be full of what the new chairman ought to be doing. Here are some action items that SEBI ought to address as a matter of priority:- a) The SEBI (Foreign Institutional Investors)…
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Readings on India Knowledge@Wharton
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The current issue of India Knowledge@Wharton contains a few interesting readings that pertain to the Indian corporate and financial sector. First, “India’s 2008 Budget: Few Incentives for Global Investors, but a Windfall for Farmers” discusses the Budget and its implications, primarily to foreign investors. Second, in The Public Benefits of Public…