Current order book at Rs 6000cr: Pratibha Industries

Pratibha Industries ' order book position has picked up in Q1 and currently stands at Rs 6,000 crore CEO Yogen Lal told CNBC-TV18. Execution of orders was relatively slower in the last quarter as the company was at the initial stages of projects with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (DMRC), he informed.

Meanwhile, Lal is hopeful of clocking reasonable growth this year. "In terms of the revenue growth, our current order book is sufficient to sustain at least 15 percent growth, if not more and we do expect that there will be a linear relationship between the growth and at least at the EBITDA level profit," he added.

Also read: Pratibha Industries bags order aggregating to Rs 526.20cr

Below is the edited transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18

Q: In the news is an order that you have bagged from an entity in Jodhpur can you take us through that Rs 128 crore order. What is your order book looking like and what are the margins of this new order?

A: Our order book is close to around Rs 6,000 crore. The new order that we have announced is an order from an existing client which is a public health engineering department in Rajasthan. That is essentially a water supply scheme and it is adjacent to an existing project that we are doing for them.

Q: Your last quarter was a bit slow on execution what has been the trend in Q1?

A: Q1 has picked up. The month of June has seen heavy rains across the country so that has had an impact on construction, but Q1 has been good so far. The primary reason for the relatively slower execution in last quarter was that we were just at the beginning of some of our projects with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (DMRC) and those have picked up.

Q: What about debtor days? We understand that your working capital days increased to 175 from 162 in FY13- any improvement at all?

A: Debtor days are relatively better off. We are maintaining debtor days of somewhere around 60 days. The increase in working capital was primarily because of increase in WIC and the inventory which has caused primarily due to the lump sum nature of our contract where we are entitled to state wise payment.

Q: Have they normalised now because that was hurting your debt equity isn't it?

A: Yes, they have normalised now. In fact, collections are quite better, better than most other in this sector. We are not seeing any issues as far as collections are concerned. The nature of the contract we are trying our level best to improve our efficiency internally.

Q: How much of this order book will you execute in this financial year? How much revenues should we expect in FY14?

A: We should be able to maintain the growth that we have demonstrated last year. We do expect that we should see a reasonable growth again this year.

Q: Some numbers because ultimately your profit in the Q4 fell by about 30 percent so for the current year what can you tell us in terms of revenue growth number in terms of profit growth as a percentage number and order book?

A: In terms of the revenue growth, our current order book is sufficient to sustain at least 15 percent growth, if not more and we do expect that there will be a linear relationship between the growth and at least at the EBITDA level profit. Order book, it is a difficult time for the sector but our endeavor will be to bag as much as we execute if not more.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Self-drive your way to glory with ZoomCar

London based market intelligence firm Euromonitor has pegged the Indian car hire market at about USD 3 billion currently with a growth rate of 14 percent just last year.

Self-drive was the fastest growing segment which prompted the duo of Greg Moran and David Back, graduates from the University of Pennsylvania to start-up. They launched ZoomCar, a membership based self-drive service which allows individuals to hire cars by the hour or by the day. Having gross revenues of Rs 15 lakh in the first year of its launch the duo is keen to take ZoomCar pan India.

Twenty seven year old Greg Moran is quite literally accelerating the self-drive concept in India with his venture ZoomCar, a membership based local self-drive service. The idea to set up shop in India occurred to Greg and his friend David Back when they travelled around India highlighted the lack of self-drive car rental services. To become a member one needs to create an account on the website and upload one's driving license after which a car can be booked via the web or a mobile app. To ensure secure bookings they accept only advance payments via credit or debit cards. ZoomCar owns and operates a fleet of Rs 19 vehicles and charges Rs 199 an hour and Rs 1,999 for a day for the Ford Figo. It is Rs 249 for the hour and Rs 2,499 per day for a Mahindra Scorpio. Despite having raised general seed investments of over USD 300,000 from New York based Empire Angels and a UK based investor group, starting up in a much regulated sector was not easy.

Greg Moran, co-founder & chief executive officer, ZoomCar says, "Everything is governed by the Transport Minister and a certain regulatory scheme that is actually over 20 years old which essentially states that you have to have 50 vehicles to operate. So, we are actually partnering with a local partner in terms of an operating license that we have been able leverage and so we are able to effectively overcome that hurdle."

Zooming its way through the hurdle ZoomCar today has over 1,500 members and the utilisation rate of 55-65 percent on weekdays and 90-95 percent on weekends. ZoomCar reservation covers the entire trip which includes fuel cost, insurance maintenance, roadside assistance and even taxes.

Having partnered US based vehicle technology partner JustShareIt, the venture claims it has developed a state of the art vehicle reservation, billing entry and security technology not only to boost customer experience but also to ensure that ZoomCar vehicles are monitored and tracked to avoid defaults. While Greg claims that majority of his revenues come from direct reservations he is now looking at his daily data to generate revenues and also in the pipeline are plans to add electric cars to the existing fleet. Having already grossed revenues of Rs 15 lakh Greg presently has only two pick up and drop stops in Bangalore and he is in talks with universities and real estate developers in the city to acquire more sites.

Moran adds, "In the beginning of 2014 that is when we really want to hit the ground running into other markets such as Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and a lot of other tier-1, tier-2 cities."

Greg and David are dribbling their way to success hoping to net further funding which will primarily be used to increase their fleet size and develop their technology platform. The immediate goal is to add over 15 vehicles by the end of this month.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Adulteration' defined differently in US and India: Ranbaxy

The Indian pharma sector has in the recent past faced a slew of allegations and pessimism . Ranbaxy , one of India's pharma majors, has been the harbinger of this negativity. The company has faced and eight year long civil and criminal probe in the United States, four year long import ban on its manufacturing facilities in India for supplies to the US, admissions to felony charges, a USD 500 million settlement fine and a very strict consent decree.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Arun Sawhney, managing director and chief executive officer of Ranbaxy says the company has taken all measures to make sure that an epsiode like this does not recur in the future. He says the USFDA's ban on its products is due to different definitions of what is 'adulterated' in the US and in India. 

"The drugs that were put on the market in the US at that time based on delayed testing of stability samples data were described as adulterated. Does that make that drug in the US substandard or contaminated or spurious? The clear answer is no. The definition of the world adulterated in the US context is very different from the definition of a drug as adulterated in the Indian context," adds Sawhney in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

Below is edited transcript of Sawhney's interview to CNBC-TV18. 

Q: Are the troubles over for Ranbaxy here? We understand there is fresh probe that has been ordered by the Drug Controller General of India in the manufacturing facilities for Ranbaxy. What are the sort of dialogues are you having with the drug controller now?

A: I recognise that there were issues in the past. I can assure you that Ranbaxy Laboratories has taken all measures to make sure that they do not recur again the future. We have invested more than USD 300 million since 2009 in upgrading our facilities, making sure that there are good systems and procedures in place, training people, hiring the best consultants in the world to build skill sets at Ranbaxy. I am not aware of any probe being ordered by local authorities on Ranbaxy.

Q: But we understand they are in constant dialogue with the company and they have an initiated a probe.

A: I have regular meetings with all the stakeholders including the government. We are cooperating with them. We provide all information that is requested of us. We will be happy to provide all information that any government agency is seeking from us.

Q: If we go back to the settlement that you have signed with US Food and Drugs Administration (USFDA), you have agreed that you issued adulterated drugs between 2005 and 2006 in the US. You have agreed that one of these drugs Sotret had failed accelerated dissolution stability test but you continued selling it for another 13 months. You have accepted that Gabapentin in 2007 certain batches for testing out a specifications had unknown impurities and would not maintain shelf life. These were also some of the drugs that were sold in India that point in time. How would Ranbaxy claim and with what certainty that the drugs that were sold in India were not adulterated and substandard as you have accepted in the US?

A: A pharmaceutical company is expected to operate under CGMP conditions. CGMP stands for Current Good Manufacturing Practices. In Ranbaxy's context, the delayed testing of stability data was a non-GMP activity. So, the data that was generated out of delayed stability testing was a non-GMP data. The drugs that were put on the market in the US at that time based on delayed testing of stability samples data were described as adulterated. Does that make that drug in the US substandard or contaminated or spurious? The clear answer is no. The definition of the world adulterated in the US context is very different from the definition of a drug as adulterated in the Indian context.

Q: In the press release of Department of Justice (DoJ) they have said that when company sell adulterated drug, they undermine the integrity of FDA's approval process and may cause patients to take drugs that are substandard, ineffective or unsafe?

A: In Ranbaxy context the adulteration was because of the data that was generated on delayed testing of stability samples. That was the context relevant to Ranbaxy.

Q: You have accepted that you were selling drugs which had failed stability testing, which were testing out of specification had unknown impurities, doesn't that lead two drugs which would eventually may not be harmful or unsafe but maybe ineffective?

A: We have on record FDA advising the patients in the US to continue taking Ranbaxy drugs because they discovered Ranbaxy drugs were of good quality. So, there was nothing wrong with the quality of drugs in the US. The expression adulterated has a definite meaning in the US context which is not the same as in India or anywhere else in the world.

Q: In 2008 press release FDA had mentioned that while this does not involve removing products from the market, FDA has no evidence to date, that Ranbaxy has shipped defective products. So, at that point in time, to date they did not have enough evidence and in 2013 when you signed the settlement, in that meantime they had come across all the issues that have been highlighted in the current press release?

A: Yes, it is the delayed testing on the stability samples and delayed information that was provided to FDA. That was it. Since 2008, we have not shipped any product from Dewas or Paonta to the US.

In 2008 FDA has gone on record telling that Ranbaxy drugs are safe, there is no issue with the quality of the drugs. We have taken all measures since then to ensure that the issues that we were facing way back in 2004-05 are not faced again.

Q: There has been a case of outright fraud by the company at that point in time which you have agreed in your statements to the USFDA and the DoJ. That is the story for the US. The same plants were supplying those drugs in India and continue to supply drugs in India, how do you convince the consumers here in India? You have a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against Ranbaxy. You have hospitals which are taking independent action advising their doctors to take caution before they advice Ranbaxy drugs?

A: We have signed consent decree with FDA. We have settled with US DoJ. In case of FDA we will go through the consent decree process and once we go through the consent decree process we will be back in business from Dewas and Paonta in the future.

In case of DoJ we provided in 2011 and took a big knock in 2011. 2012 we performed ahead of expectations. In 2013 we are performing as per our target and we remain firm on our guidance of Rs 120 billion in 2013.

We have very aggressive growth plans for Ranbaxy also in the US. In India, we have key markets, key therapeutic areas. We have continued to make investments in our manufacturing. We have very exciting portfolio in R&D and above all I also have a team that will execute on all these plants. So, this is the implication of the DoJ and FDA.

Now, coming to the point on hospitals, by and large in India all hospitals are prescribing Ranbaxy drugs. I respect internal processes of all the hospitals. I will provide continuously information that they seek to build confidence in Ranbaxy drugs and Ranbaxy medicines and I am sure that they will continue to prescribe Ranbaxy medicines as they have been doing up till now.

Q: You have also admitted that false, fictitious and fraudulent statements were given to FDA in the annual reports of 2006 and 2007 regarding the dates of stability testing at Dewas for certain products. Has this sort of fraud, this part of fraud being taken care at Ranbaxy? Have you been able to identify and pin down the specific departments who were involved, the specific employees who were involved and have you been able to oust that entire bit out of the company?

A: I am assuring that we have taken all corrective measures to ensure that the same is not repeated again. We have strengthened our quality department, we have staffed appropriately, so it is no longer understaffed. We have improved the infrastructure in our quality department. All the issues that we faced in the past I assure you will not be the issues the company will not face in the future.

Q: Basically, people involved in that aspect of the business have been moved out of the company?

A: None of the people who occupy critical positions way back in that time are working with Ranbaxy today. It is altogether a new company, the board of Ranbaxy is newly constituted, the executive team at Ranbaxy is newly constituted, and the executives in critical positions are completely new.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Expect boost in mkt position post upgrades: Tata Motors

Karl Slym, MD of Tata Motors , in an interview to CNBC-TV18, talked about the company's slew of upgrades for existing models. He expects improvement in the position with these launches.

The company has chosen to only tweak its product range and not to launch any new car till next year. Today, it launched upgraded versions of its Indigo ECS, Sumo Gold, Nano, Indica and also a new CNG range across its Indica, Indigo and Nano range.

Also read: Tata Motors upgrades cars as rivals launch new ones

Below is the verbatim transcript of his interview to CNBC-TV18

Q: What do you have to say about the company's bid to revive sales?

A:  It is important that it's a segment in which there is growth and there is a future. It is important that we bring as we have talked about before making sure that we are not bringing a car for 2012 but actually we have future in our vehicles as well.

So, ideally that is what we tried to show you today with Horizon Next that this is the beginning. However, you can see the pillars in which we are building today and our future to make sure that these new products that we bring. We are in a business which is product focused and has great products.

Q: You have announced 8 refreshes as of today, but in the mind of market, in this overall industry situation that we are in, given the sort of sales that you have seen of your own passenger vehicle segment, is this really going to be enough even if it is a short term strategy, how soon could we see that first new product coming out from Tata Motor's stable?

A: Word refresh in a negative manner and I don't think that's what we have done here. What we have done is taken the feedback from our customers. We have got great products, which have got huge strengths in the market and we get feedback from customers on the things that they would like to see.

So, here we are listening to the customer, taking those feedbacks and actually putting them into the car. So, that is why you have seen us launch 8 vehicles across 5 platforms today answering the consumer's queries and points on our vehicles.

So, I expect the 8 new vehicles will help us to see an improvement in our position especially as we know what kind of vehicles we have launched today.

Of course everybody would like to see new products hitting the market place. However, it is not just about bringing a new product, you have got to bring the right product to the market place. The market place has changed.

Q: What is it going to take for you to revive sales of the Nano. You spoken earlier again about branding and positioning. How soon do you think you are going to go back to those levels and talk to me about production at Sanand? What are the plans really to utilize the capacity at Sanand?

A: Nano as what you see today is one of the 8 vehicles. So, you have now got again many of the things that people gave us feedback on. On the Nano we have managed to feedback into this June version of Nano. I do expect that positioning is better and the kind of answers we have brought to the market today then we will the volumes return to a much healthier condition. The Nano is a great car, we need to let people realize and experience why it can be great for them.

As far as Sanand is concerned Sanand is a Nano plant. So, therefore it's affected by this current volume. So, it is important for them to see the Nano grow, but at the same time we also want to see Sanand grow. It is a great facility and we look forward to that being a small car plant for us as opposed to just the Nano.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Indian Hotels' offer to buy Orient Express may lapse: Srcs

Indian Hotels offer for acquiring US-based Orient Express may lapse as the Indian company did not modify offer price within stipulated time, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

In November, US-listed Orient-Express, which owns the Hotel Cipriani in Venice and the '21' Club in New York, rejected a USD 1.2 billion unsolicited takeover offer from Indian Hotels as too cheap. Indian Hotels have not revised the bid for acquisition after that.

Indian Hotels had booked a loss of Rs 305 crore for investment in Orient Express in the fourth quarter earnings. Following the news, share of the company today ended higher nearly 4 percent at Rs 50.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com believes that the stock can now see some buying interest coming and may also move higher from here on. "Things are not really very healthy at for all the hotel industry. If Indian Hotels would have gone for Orient Express then that would have seen quite negative. We have seen the effect of a similar kind in Apollo Tyres. I won't say that the impact would have been severe but this overhang has gone," he added.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ranbaxy slumps to near 4-year low; rupee to add to injury

Moneycontrol Bureau

Shares of pharma major Ranbaxy slumped more than 6 percent to hit a near 4-year low of Rs 342.75 on NSE on Tuesday.

The company, now owned by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, last month pleaded guilty to felony charges in the US related to two of its manufacturing plants in India -- Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and Paonta Sahib in HImachal Pradesh.

Now the Supreme Court in India on June 24 will hear a petition seeking a probe against the company for allegedly manufacturing adulterated medicines, which has further got the street worried.

The Supreme Court had earlier sought more details/proof over the petitioner's allegations. Now the court has agreed to hear the PIL (public interest litigation), which could throw open more can of worms, analysts say.

Apart from this case, there were also reports earlier this month that the Drug Controller General of India will inspect the Dewas and Paonta Sahib to check if it follows proper manufacturing practises under Indian laws.

Further, the recent sharp rupee depreciation is also likely to bring more pain for Ranbaxy, rather than any benefits.

The company had already provisioned in FY13 to a pay USD 500 million fine in the United States, but the provision was at around Rs 50 per US Dollar. It has depreciated to Rs 57-58 now, so it will lose more, points out an analyst at a local brokerage.

That payout according to a CNBC-TV18 report is expected in the current quarter and net debt post the payout will be around USD 670 million.

Also Read: Vodafone India reduces 2G data charges by 80%

Also the Rupee depreciation will be offset by loss on overseas options derivatives worth USD 962 million, which expire over two years, the CNBC-TV18 report added.

Some analysts say the company could take a hit of USD 1 billion in the US market, as apart from the USD 500 million fine, the two plants remained closed and new launches were also impacted.

Ranbaxy shares closed down 3.5 percent at Rs 352.80 on NSE. The stock is already down 25 percent over the last one month.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

69 power plants yet to sign FSA with CIL: CoalMin

Jun 18, 2013, 03.47 PM IST

Around 69 power plants are yet to sign a fuel supply pact with state-run Coal India, Coal Ministry today informed Prime Minister's Office.

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69 power plants yet to sign FSA with CIL: CoalMin

Around 69 power plants are yet to sign a fuel supply pact with state-run Coal India, Coal Ministry today informed Prime Minister's Office.

Like this story, share it with millions of investors on M3

69 power plants yet to sign FSA with CIL: CoalMin

Around 69 power plants are yet to sign a fuel supply pact with state-run Coal India, Coal Ministry today informed Prime Minister's Office.

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The Coal Ministry has informed the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that out of the 69 power plants which are yet to enter into fuel supply pacts with state-run CIL, 29 cases belong to NTPC and its joint ventures. "There are 131 cases of power plants/units which are...for signing of FSAs (Fuel Supply Agreements) by CIL ( Coal India) and its subsidiaries. Out of these 131 cases...FSAs for 62 cases have already been executed...Out of 69 cases, 29 cases belong to NTPC and its JVs," the Coal Ministry has informed the PMO.

The power plants of NTPC and its joint ventures (JV) which have not signed FSAs include Dadri, Korba, Farakka, Simhadri, Bhilai JV and Sipat. Though these power plants of the power PSU have not signed pacts with CIL, most of them are drawing coal under MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), the ministry said.

The power firms, including NTPC, had earlier this year failed to meet the second deadline set by the PMO for signing FSAs. The Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pulok Chatterjee had in December last year directed that the remaining FSAs should be signed within a month's time.

The PMO's directive in December, 2012 came after its November, 2012 deadline for signing of FSAs was missed. NTPC has not entered into FSA with CIL as it had raised concerns about quality of coal being supplied to its power plants. Earlier, the government issued a Presidential Directive to CIL to sign FSAs with the power producers assuring them of at least 80 per cent of the committed coal delivery.

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Era Infra expects pick up in stagnant order book this year

After bagging a construction order from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), TD Arora of Era Infra Engineering told CNBC-TV18 that the company's stagnant order book will pick up in this year. He expected additional orders to cross Rs 500-Rs 1,000 crore at the end of 2013.

Speaking on the margin from the project, he saw it to be in-line with its traditional 6.5 percent margin.

Also read: Govt announces another mega industrial corridor

Below is the edited transcript of his interview to CNBC-TV18.

Q: We understand that you have secured an order from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for construction of some elevated viaducts.

A: This is a Kochi Metro Rail package but the consultants are the DMRC. We have received the KC-5 metro line package. This is in a joint venture (JV) with Ranken , a Chinese (railway construction) company.

The construction is of elevated viaduct which includes five elevated stations. Some of the stations are there in that Alwaye-Petta Line.

Q: The whole order is Rs 383 crore. But, what do you make in terms of net?

A: While bidding you definitely keep certain margins (aside). While doing the job, certain things are there (kept in mind).

Q: Your traditional margin has been about 6.5 percent. Is that what we should expect in this one?

A: Yes. Such margins are definitely targeted and we will move in that direction. In our past contracts, we have kept our bottom-line intact.

Q: For your company size, this is still relatively smaller order. The concern has been on your stagnant order book. In FY14, will it go past Rs 10,000 crore mark significantly?

A: As far as our order book is concerned we are already having almost around Rs 10,000 crore of work in hand.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

European biz witnessing recovery: VA Tech Wabag

VA Tech Wabag has an order book of around Rs 450 crore in the first quarter of current financial year, says executive director Amit Sengupta. "The large order, which we have booked, is about Rs 116 crore worth of Chennai Metro pumping station and  Rs 262 crore worth of orders from Nepal ," he told CNBC-TV18. He expects some more major orders to close before June.

He also says that the company's European business is witnessing recovery and its footing in the domestic market remains strong.

Below is the edited transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18

Q: Let us start with your order book position of  Rs 450 crore. This will give you visibility of work up until how long and what do these orders give you by way of margins?

A: This order book of Rs 450 crore is in the first quarter of April to June. Of course I see this year to be a very good one for us.

In the first quarter itself, we expect some more orders and it can be anywhere between Rs 420 crore to Rs 450 crore with some small orders here and there. But the large order, which we have booked, is about Rs 116 crore worth of Chennai Metro pumping station and about Rs 262 crore worth of orders from Nepal. I am also expecting some more major orders to close before June.

Q: This is the order of the joint venture (JV) isn't it, the order book. What about the standalone VA Tech Wabag?

A: Standalone VA Tech Wabag will also be good because only the Nepal order is on a JV, but we are the leaders. So, the entire order can be attributed to us and we will share it with the partner. The other orders which I am expecting to close will be solely ours.

Q: The concern for your company really has been international operations especially in Europe, because the standalone entity continues to do well even on the margin front. By when will the transition be complete in terms of Europe from moving to slightly lower cost economies and by when will we see an impact on the financials because FY13 was relatively muted for your company?

A: Let us understand that Europe basically caters to the markets which are emerging market for them in North Africa and other places. So with the Arab spring and all these things the African market was hit, but now I find good recovery and we expect one order from Egypt very soon.

It will be a good order, and definitely this one was obtained by good backing from India because it has been understood that lot of support will be provided to our European office from India and our Turkey office so that they become very competitive and they again come back to good order growth path.

About international market another thing I must say that Wabag India is expected to do very well in the Middle East and we expect some good orders from Philippines as well.

Q: What about domestic desalination projects, what kind of revenue should we see in FY14 on these projects?

A: I must tell you that the domestic desalination projects are always very few because leaving some part of coastal Tamil Nadu and some part of Kutch Gujarat, there will not be many desalination projects in the domestic market.

But definitely with the million others, we are on a very strong footing in the domestic market and there could be some more movement in Tamil Nadu domestic market where series of projects are going to be announced soon. So we expect it to do very well.

Other domestic markets as you know that the domestic market is going a bit slow. So we have concentrated more on the countries in the vicinity of India and that is why we are very positive about order booking for Wabag.

Q: Can you give us some numbers on what kind of revenue growth you will see in FY14 and FY15 if you have visibility since you are talking of order books and how will your margins perform, will you do better than the 13.5 that you have been doing?

A: The numbers and guidance which have already been provided are much better than the first years and you must have seen that in our profit and loss account on standalone basis we have grown hardly 4 percent last year that is because we had lower order book in the previous years.

With adequate order book now we expect very good order book in this year. I am sure it is going to reflect everywhere in the results at least in the next coming two years.

Q: In last quarter you improved your working capital cycle quite a bit, that was one positive that came out. Is that process continuing or is the upside from that part over?

A: That is the focus our entire company has and we are very much on to it and I am sure that working capital is going to come down substantially and our receivables position will substantially improve this year because there were some of the two three large elements in the receivables which is affecting our working capital and we are going to come out of it very soon.

21.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nokia has followed Indian tax laws to a tee: Shivakumar

The outgoing Nokia senior vice-president (India, Middle East, Asia) D Shivakumar defended the company against the tax departments claims of tax evasion. He also said to operate in India, corporates need patience.

After an eight-year stint, Shivakumar will quit Nokia on June 30. Sivakumar led Nokia India between 2006 and 2011 and has seen the company rise to the top and lose market share over the last few years.

In an exclusive exit interview, Shivakumar says "I would really be surprised if any global CEO said India is not an important market for us."

Also read: Bharti slips after Vodafone cuts data charges, RComm up 11%

Below is the verbatim transcript of his interview to CNBC-TV18

Q: What do you have to say about tax that IT slapped on Nokia India?

A: We have followed all the laws, to the letter, every single thing. The issue is interpretation. Someone who is looking at the same thing will interpret it differently and so no you need to pay a profit on this transaction also. We have got enough legal, consultant and international opinion to say what we have done is right.

In this case a constructive dialogue is the answer. It is not for the media to repeatedly say here is Vodafone and here is Nokia, here is somebody else and they are tax evaders.

Q: But where does the constructive dialogue actually led you because you moved to Delhi High Court, there has been no positive movement for you on that front, where is the constructive dialogue?

A: That is the democracy. If you operate in markets and democratic institutions like India, it takes time. So, one of the things on dealing with India is you have to have enormous patience. One needs to have patience for the process to go through, for the institution to take its view and do the right thing.

Q: Is the global headquater (HQ) losing patience with having to do business in this sort of an environment?

A: I don't think people will lose patience. People invariably look at India and say: "Here is a great country and a great market. We really wish they could iron out these little things which hamper smooth progress". That is the way most people will look at India today.

I would really be surprised if any global CEO said India is not an important market for us. They will not be able to say that because India is too important today and will be even more important in the future.

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