As stocks tumble and bonds recede,NPS funds have churned out losses in the past year and given insipid returns in the long term
The passing of the Pension Bill by Parliament is good news for investors in the National Pension Scheme (NPS).But the news from the market is not very heartening.Despite the rebound in stocks,NPS funds have churned out losses in the past year.While the NAVs of the schemes may be higher than the September 2012 levels,the point-to-point returns hide the true picture.Most NPS investors,including the 27 lakh central and state government employees,who are compulsorily a part of the NPS,invest in the scheme every month and their returns should be calculated accordingly.We looked at the SIP returns of NPS funds in the past year and found that most of them were in the red. The NPS funds for government employees have,on an average,lost 1.77% in the past year.However,you cant blame the downturn in the equity market.Most of the losses are due to the steep 12-15 % fall in government bond prices in the past three months.The NPS funds for government employees are allowed to invest up to 15% of their corpus in equities,but no fund has hit that ceiling.The SBI Pension Fund,the worst performing fund for government employees,had only 6.83% of its corpus in stocks as on 30 June 2013.The UTI Retirement Solutions had only 7.75% in stocks as on 28 March 2013.Both the schemes had almost 50% in government bonds,most of them long-term instruments.The long-term bonds declined steeply in July-August,when the RBI tried to stabilise the rupee. It is not clear how much the investors have lost due to the equity exposure or allocation to bonds over the past year because the investment mix keeps changing.Besides,not all pension funds disclose the portfolios of the schemes they run. However,the returns of the NPS schemes for the general public offer some clues on how investments have performed in the last one year.The G class funds,which invest only in government bonds,have generated very poor returns (see table).Far from cushioning the portfolio against volatility,the government bonds have infused greater risk in the portfolios.
Long-term returns also hit
You could say that one year is too short a duration for judging a scheme in which one has invested for the long term,possibly 20-25 years.However,the downtrend in stocks and bonds has also impacted the long-term returns of the NPS schemes.Though the historical NAV data for all pension fund managers is not available,we managed to get it for UTI Retirement Solutions.The past five-year SIP returns of the pension scheme for central government employees is 6.58%.The 3-year and 4-year returns of the two other pension fund managers (see graphic) are also far below the 8.67% that the EPF has offered.
Corporate bonds to the rescue
Corporate bonds have managed to salvage the returns of the NPS schemes.In the past year,the returns of C class funds have been flat,but over the past four years,they have given more than 8%.The ICICI Prudential Pension Funds corporate bond scheme has given SIP returns of 9.35% since its launch in June 2009.However,these bonds are not considered as safe as government bonds. The poor returns come at a time when the economy is floundering.Some experts say the equity markets could recede.The good part is that bond prices are expected to recover as the rupee stabilises against the dollar and interest rates subside.NPS investors should rejig their allocation to equities,corporate bonds and gilts accordingly.
Tata Capital, a private equity arm of the diversified $100 billion Tata Group, has invested $80 million (Rs 470 crore) for about a 15% stake and a board seat in Shriram Properties, the Bangalore-based real estate unit of the $12-billion southern conglomerate Shriram Group.
TOI first reported on the deal brewing between the two business houses in September last year. This is possibly the first real estate investment by the Tatas outside the group.
Tata Capital executed the deal through its sector agonistic $600-million Tata Opportunities Fund. New boutique investment bank Sprout Capital advised on the transaction.
The deal was a secondary transaction with Shriram Ventures — the holding company of Shriram Group’s nonfinancial services businesses — paring its stake. Shriram
Ventures is likely to pour the cash into other group companies, especially the listed Shriram EPC, new businesses. The promoter stake in the privately-held Shriram Properties stands at 42% post the Tata investment. Shriram Properties is a zero-debt company and has cash reserves in excess of Rs 400 crore. “With Tata on board, it positions Shriram Properties favorably for an IPO in the near future,“ M Murali, MD, Shriram Properties, told .
City Union Bank QIP oversubscribed he Rs 350 crore T qualified institutional placement (QIP) from City Union Bank (CUB) has been subscribed 3.4 times. The Kumbakonam-based CUB had fixed the floor price for the QIP at Rs 75.05 per share.
West Pharma Packaging Private Ltd, a subsidiary of US-based West Pharmaceuticals Services, has inaugurated its manufacturing plant in Sri City , an integrated business city near Andhra Pradesh. The company , which makes packaging components for injectables, has invested $ 15 million in the plant, a statement from the company said.
“This investment is important to our strategy of partnering with customers in India and the AsiaPacific region to help them provide medicines to patients more efficiently , reliably and safely. With the facility complete, we anticipate a reduction in lead times for supply in India,“ Warwick Bedwell, President, Asia Pacific, West Pharma said.
“West is experiencing a very exciting period of growth and business expansion in Asia, and we are proud to open our first facility in India. With more and more pharmaceutical customers establishing operations in India, our new plant will help West to meet market demand and further establishes the company's presence in this growing and dynamic market,“ Jeffrey C. Hunt, President, West Pharma said in the statement. TNN
Are Good Days Here? Exports are up, inflation is cooling, and factory production and services activity have gathered pace. The man on Dalal St is also celebrating
The first full month under the Narendra Modi government's watch turned out to be a good one for the economy with macro indicators looking up and inflation lower despite lingering monsoon doubts, suggesting that growth could have finally bottomed out.
Exports rose 10.2% in June from a year ago, the government said on Wednesday , marking yet another positive development following a series of good numbers in recent days that suggest the economy is picking up from decade-low growth rates in the past two years. Industrial production rose to a 19-month high of 4.7% in May while car sales rose at their fastest pace in 10 months in June, clearly indicating that the consumer was more confident of the new government shaping recovery. Services activity rose to a 17-month high in June on the strength of robust order flow, according to the HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, indicating rising optimism in the sector that has a share of more than 60% in the economy.
Imports rose for the first time in a year, at around 8.3%, confirming some sort of recovery in the domestic economy even after discounting for higher gold imports, which rose nearly 65% in June after the Reserve Bank of India eased rules by allowing more entities to import gold. India's other big concern, retail inflation, dropped to 7.31% in June, the lowest since the government started reporting consumer price index inflation in January 2012, although the monsoon fears loom large. And to top it all, the trade deficit was $11.78 billion in June, the highest in a year, but only marginally more than $11.28 billion in May , according to data released on Wednesday by the commerce department.
Markets cheered the development, with the Sensex rising 1.27% to 25,549.72 points.
“The export data is very encouraging, especially the fact that it is led by robust performance of engineering goods, indicating a productivity revival. Given that non-oil, non-gold imports have shown an uptick, industrial production for June will also be quite strong,“ said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, chief economic advisor, State Bank of India. “One can say looking at car sales, manufacturing and exports data that the economy may well have finally bottomed out.“
That will bode well for the Modi government, which has pledged to turn the economy around while bringing prices under control. The economy could begin the first quarter of the current year at near-5% growth, up from 4.6% in the January-March quarter.
The decline in global commodity prices will also act as a booster although Iraq and Ukraine are geopolitical sore spots with the potential to reverse the trend. Meanwhile, the June-September monsoon has been patchy although rains have picked up. A poor monsoon could wreak havoc on prices, something that will force the Reserve Bank of India to keep up the pressure on interest rates at its August 5 policy announcement, although both wholesale and retail inflation slowed sharply in June.
Port can now expand facilities to tap SEZ's potential; company's scrip jumps 7%
Adani Ports and SEZ, India’s largest port operator, received environment and coastal regulation zone clearance from the central government for its special economic zone (SEZ) at Mundra Port in Gujarat, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
Shares of the company shot up after the announcement, closing 7% higher at .
`281.1 on the BSE.
The Gautam Adani-led company had faced a major setback in January this year when the Gujarat High Court ordered 12 out of 21 units in Mundra SEZ to shut down, in response to a public interest litigation filed by some villagers who had claimed that construction activities at the SEZ were affecting their livelihood.
Even though the Supreme Court later allowed the reopening of the units in an interim order, expansion or establishment of new factories were not permitted till environment and other clearances came through.
“The grant of the environmental clearance to Mundra SEZ by the Ministry of Environment and Forest will encourage investment in SEZ and the development is expected to be at a much faster pace as it provides seamless connectivity through sea, rail and road,” Gautam Adani, chairman, Adani Group was quoted as saying in a statement from the company.
The resumption of activities in the SEZ, which is spread over 8,481 hectares near the flagship Mundra Port, will help the company attract more cargo. The clearance will also allow the company to set a mega desalination plant and an effluent treatment plant which will cat
er to companies setting up manufacturing units in the SEZ.
“This is a big positive for Adani Ports.
There was a concern on the street that not just those 12 units but the whole SEZ would get reviewed by the environment ministry, affecting future expansion of the SEZ. The company would have lost on future port volumes,” said Nitin Arora,
an analyst with Emkay Global.
Earlier in the week, the apex court had asked the environment ministry to take a decision on the environmental clearance for the Adani Ports SEZ in the next eight weeks. “Now there is clarity and Adani Ports can expand the SEZ now. The regulatory overhang has gone away,” said Vibhor Singhal, an analyst with Phillip Capital. The SEZ has been core to Gautam Adani’s plan in Mundra.
Even though Mundra SEZ currently does not account for a significant chunk of the port’s current revenue or cargo handling, the potential for the future is huge once the number of units operating in the SEZ grows.
The company does not separately disclose the revenue and cargo breakup attributable to the SEZ. Adani Ports’ revenue for the financial year ended March 31, 2014 was .
`5,508 crore compared to .
`3,841 crore in the year earlier.
Lawyer Anand Yagnik, representing the aggrieved villagers, declined to comment, saying he had not yet seen the clearance certificate. However, any clearance granted by the environment ministry can be challenged under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.
Out of the target price of .
`296 set by Emkay Global for Adani Ports, .
`30 is accounted for by Mundra SEZ.
The Gujarat High Court order to shut down 12 manufacturing units came in response to a petition filed by Jajubha Bhimsinh Jadeja, resident of Navinal village near Mundra.
Jadeja’s contention was that construction activities along the coast had resulted in the loss of fish catch, which is affecting fishing communities, and loss of pastoral land in Navinal and surrounding villages.
Nanavati Hospital Gets a Partner to Manage Its Ops
SABARINATH M
MUMBAI
Tie-up with Radiant Life to help hospital introduce global management practices & become super-specialty facility
Mumbai's iconic Nanavati Hospital, inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950, has entered into operations and management (O&M) alliance with healthcare management firm Radiant Life Care, as the 64year-old hospital looks to introduce global hospital management practices, expand operations and transform itself into a super-specialty hospital.
Post alliance, the 360-bed hospital, founded by Ratilal Manilal Nanavati, in memory of his grandfather and physician to the royal family of the Gaekwads, will add an Rs. 350 crore and upother 250 beds at a cost of ` grade the existing facilities at a time when rising consumer awareness is redefining healthcare standards.
“The brand Nanavati will remain intact. Over the past six months, we have screened a series of healthcare management facilities, both domestically and internationally . We found Radiant to be the most appropriate partner,“ said Priyam Jhaveri, chairman of the trust, which controls Balabhai Nanavati Hospital.
Radiant Life Care, promoted by former investment banker Abhay Soi, will help streamline operations by bringing in global practices and introducing a wide range of medical services. The healthcare management company now manages Delhi's BLK Hospital. “The alliance will give us a unique position of managing two iconic super specialty hospitals in India's two biggest metros,“ said Soi, chairman of Radiant Life Care.
After helping firms to restructure and turn around operations as the head of financial restructuring at Ernst & Young and An derson, Soi, 40, co-founded the $300-million stress-asset fund Halcyon Financial Capital, which invested in textile manufacturers, paper board makers, sugar manufacturing and brokerage firms. Halcyon took over the operations of Delhi-based Radiant `250 crore) in 2009. Life for $40 million (.
The healthcare management company played a key role in transforming BLK Hospital into one of Delhi's largest private sector hospitals with 650 beds. Faced with high operating costs, financial crunch and its inability to compete with other private sector players, Nanavati Hospital decided to streamline and expand operations in collaboration with healthcare players. The hospital's trust has received proposals from several players.
Radiant's alliance with Nanavati signals the rising trend to seek the services of healthcare management firms to rede velop and manage hospitals. “Hotel industry was the first to leverage on the O&M model in India. This trend is fast catching up in the healthcare sector. This will lead to faster redevelopment and expansion of hospitals at a time when consumers are looking for modern healthcare facilities,“ said an analyst with a multinational institutional brokerage firm, who did not wish to be named.
The healthcare industry in India is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 15% to touch $158.2 billion in 2017 from the $78.6 billion at present, according to a recent research report. “'Rising disposable incomes, easier access to high-quality healthcare services and greater awareness to personal health and hygiene are driving this growth.“
Economic Revival Hints India Inc may Surprise St with Positive Show
RAMKRISHNA KASHELKAR
ET INTELLIGENCE GROUP
Early birds have reported mixed set of results, but experts say rest will do much better
The earnings season for the quarter to June 2014 has kicked off with a mixed bag of results. But as a growing number of companies unveil their numbers, there could be positive surprises, if early indicators such as IIP growth in May 2014, which is likely to have improved even further in June, are any indication.
Less than 50 listed companies have announced their numbers for the April-June 2014 quarter so far and except a few companies such as Tata Sponge or HFCL, the earnings score card has been average. Companies such as Infosys and IndusInd Bank underwent corrections after their earnings announcements, although the reported profits reflected handsome growth. “The results season so far has been mostly in line with market expectations,“ said Gaurang Shah, vice-president, Equities, Geojit BNP Paribas. “But there is a real possibility that India Inc's April-June 2014 quarterly performance would surprise on the positive side,“ he said.
Corporate earnings are likely to be on the higher side because of a visible improvement in economic activity. IIP growth in May was 4.7%, beating expectations and the figure is expected to be better in June.
Business Cycle Indicator (BCI), a lead indicator of the index of industrial production (IIP) trend, developed by ZyFin Research, a financial research and analytics company , also showed that industrial activity in June was better than May . The BCI, which grew 4.8% in May , gained 5% in June and rose further to 6.6% for July indicating continued growth in domestic industrial activity. “BCI is a forward-looking indicator using a lot of real-time economic data as well as consumer sentiments,“ said Debopam Chaudhuri, chief economist, ZyFin Research.
“Growth in June 2014 will tend to be positive and be 3-4%. This will mainly be due to the low base effect of the negative number last June,“ said DR Dogra, managing director & CEO, CARE Ratings. “Dogra said that this will be driven by basic and capital goods. Basic goods have shown a steady increase while capital goods have a strong negative base effect, especially for non-electrical goods,“ he said.
Based on the IIP numbers of May 2014, Nomura's chief economist Sonal Varma wrote in her report that Nomura's GDP growth forecast for AprilJune 2014 “is tracking around 5.2% YoY versus 4.9% in April and above its official forecast of 4.7%. The report said that the firm expects India's economic data to surprise positively in the coming months. ramkrishna.kashelkar@timesgroup.com
MINORITY STAKE SALE - Tata Cap PE Fund Buys into Shriram Properties
SNEHA SHAH
MUMBAI
The Rs480-cr deal values Shriram Group's realty company at Rs 3,000 crore
Tata Opportunities Fund, the private equity fund owned by Tata Capital, has bought a minority stake in Shriram Group's real estate company , Shriram Properties, for $80 million (about ` . 480 crore), a top company executive said on Wednesday . The deal values Shriram Properties at ` . 3,000 crore.
“Shriram Group has sold part of its stake in the company to Tata Opportunities Fund for $80 million,“ said Padmanabh Sinha, managing partner at Tata Opportunities Fund. ET was the first to report the story on its website http://www.economictimes.com This is the second investment by the fund outside of the Tata Group. In April, the fund invested $60 million in Aurangabad-based auto parts maker Varroc Industries.
Shriram Properties already has on board global private equity investor TPG Capital, which invested ` . 450 crore for a 15% stake in 2011. At that time, the company was valued at around ` . 2,700 crore.
Shriram Group, with interests in consumer and transport finance, will own a little more than 50% stake in the company after the new fund raise.
“TPG is not selling through this transaction. This is a primary sale from the parent company,“ said M Murali, MD at Shriram Properties.
The capital will be used by the company to develop its existing projects across 50 million square feet in southern India over the next eight years. The company has a presence in cities such as Coimbatore, Bangalore, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata. “Around 82% of the company's portfolio is residential and the remaining is commercial. We want to be a prominent player in the mid-market housing space,“ Murali said. The company , which has been growing at more than 30% every year in the past four years, is expecting similar growth for the next three years.
“When we are able to show stable quarter-on-quarter growth, we will think of a public offer,“ Murali said. The company has IPO plans in the next two years.
Tata Opportunities Fund, which raised a fund last year, is looking for opportunities such as Shriram Properties where it can write large cheques and partner good management teams. However, real estate seems to be an odd choice given the fact that traditional private equity investors have stayed away from the sector in the recent past.
“We are trying to maintain an even scale on our investments across sectors. To my mind, investments in real estate and infrastructure sector will pick up going forward,“ said Sinha of Tata Opportunities Fund. “We liked the consumer-centric nature of the business Shriram Properties has built.“
Embassy Office Parks, a joint venture between private equity firm Blackstone Group and office space developer Embassy Group, is in advanced talks to acquire three large IT parks spread over two million sq ft each in Bangalore, Pune and NCR for about `. 3,000 crore.
“The deal will be closed in less than a year,“ Michael Holland, CEO of Embassy Office Parks told ET in an exclusive interaction. Holland added that the talks were initiated in the second half of last year, the period that he described as “the low point in Indian real estate“.
The company, which earns about . 700 crore per year through rentals ` of office properties, is looking to finance the proposed acquisitions through its rental income, shareholders' equity and internal accruals.
The total office space developed by the company will increase from 16 million sq ft at present to 28 million sq ft in the next five years, Holland said, adding, “With acquisitions, we will be at 40 million sq ft in the next five years.“
The company recently acquired Vrindavan Tech Village for about . 1,951 crore in one of the largest com` mercial realty transactions in India.
Holland clarified that the company was not involved in talks to acquire Four Seasons hotel project in Bangalore. CityView, the mixeduse development property in the city has a 230-key Four Seasons hotel and 110 serviced residences.
Blackstone Group has been acquiring income-earning office properties in India for the past two years through its various joint ventures with developers like Embassy Group and Panchshil Realty. While Embassy Office Parks is building its portfolio, it is also working on capitalisation plans including a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). “In less than two years, there will be a capital event (for Embassy Office Parks),“ Holland said. “We have potential for $2 billion REIT....REIT is one of the options, but not the only option. We can even consider other options like a REIT in Singapore, traditional IPO or private equity induction.“ Income generated by REITs will be taxed at the hands of investors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced last week in his Budget speech.
However, Holland said, more clarity was required on certain issues including treatment of capital gains tax, dividend distribution tax and different treatment of loans raised by domestic and foreign investors. “We hope to get more clarity on REITs here following budget for 2015-16. We will review the possibility of listing a REIT here in the spring of next year,“ he said.
CNRI businessman `Siva' Sivasankaran has defaulted on $212 million that he was required to pay to his Bahraini partner Batelco, according to an order by a UK court. Batelco has now obtained a decree, freezing all assets of Sivasankaran globally .
Siva had to pay $212 million by June 26, 2014. “However neither Sivasankaran nor Siva Ltd has complied with the court's order... BMIC (a Batelco unit) approached the English high court on July 16, and obtained a worldwide freezing order against the defendants' assets globally ...“ a Batelco statement said.
Sivasankaran stood guarantee for investments made by Batelco in S Tel in May 2009, whose licence was cancelled by the Supreme Court along with 121 other operators. Batelco and Millennium PE fund entered into an agreement to invest $225 million ($175 million by Batelco and the rest by the fund) in 2009. Millennium PE backed out of the deal. Batelco ended up with a 42.7% stake in S Tel.
Batelco had announced it was selling its stake in S Tel back to Siva, exercising its `put' option. In October 2011, both Batelco and Siva agreed on the buyback, on the condition that Siva would transfer nearly 79 million Tata Tele shares that he owned to Batelco, valuing them at $174.50 million. The deadline to conclude the transaction of transfer of shares was October 31, 2012.
But when Siva failed to transfer the shares before the October 2012 deadline, the Bahraini telecom firm launched legal proceedings.
Siva had to pay up $212 million by June 26, 2014 according to the English court's order.
“However neither Sivasankaran nor Siva Ltd has complied with the court's order as no payment has yet been made. BMIC (a Batelco unit) approached the English High Court on July 16, and successfully obtained a worldwide freezing order against the defendants' assets globally and requiring Sivasankaran to give disclosure of his assets. It is Batelco's intention to take whatever enforcement action it considers appropriate against the defendants for full payment of the full judgment amount,“ a Batelco statement said.
Sivasankaran was out of the country and could not be reached for a comment.
Batelco Group CEO Alan Whelan said in a statement, “We had hoped that Sivasankaran and Siva Ltd would honour the judgment and thus the terms of our original agreement. The defendants are now in breach of the court's ruling and we require immediate payment of the full judgment. The court found no merit whatsoever in the arguments made by the defendants in the case and we cannot see why the payment has not been made. We will pursue all legal avenues available to us wherever Sivasankaran and Siva Ltd have assets, in order to secure this payment assisted by the worldwide freezing order which we obtained from the English High Court on July 16, 2014.“
Of the several telecom joint ventures which ran into rough weather due to the Supreme Court ruling, S Tel is the only case whereby a refund has been ordered by an international court.
No other promoter had stood guarantee for any investment.
Siva will be remembered as the one who unleashed the price war to gain business traction. Siva's turbocharged bull run which started off in the telecom space 1998 has been shortcircuited due to policy issues, legal wrangles and the absence of managerial bandwidth.
A STEP CLOSER - Oz gives green nod to Adani's $16.5 billion coal mine project
Mumbai:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Amid environmental concerns, the Australian government on Monday approved Adani's $16.5-billion Carmichael coal mine and rail project subject to a set of environmental conditions. The nod for the project comes at a time when the green lobby has raised serious doubts about the viability of the project, touted to be one of the world's biggest coal mines.
“This outstanding project will drive economic growth and create more than 6,000 jobs in Australia. It will also boost India's development by providing electricity to an estimated 100 million Indians,“ Australia's High Commission er to India Patrick Suckling said, adding that the decision sends a clear signal to international investors.
Welcoming the approval, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani said, “It takes us another step closer to delivering our mine, rail and port development. Together with the North Galillee Basin rail and the company's port operations at Abbot Point, Adani's planned investments in Queensland will deliver more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in Australia, and vital opportunities for local suppliers.“
However, the green lobby is not happy with the govern ment's decision and raised serious doubts about the viability of the Carmichael project.
“The Adani/POSCO Carmichael/Abbot Point integrated joint venture will be hugely expensive, with Adani having estimated the cumulative costs of the project at $16.5 billion,“ said Australian Conservation Foundation healthy ecosystems campaigner Ruchira Talukdar, adding that investors should be fully aware that the federal approval is merely one layer within a complex approval process that still has a long way to go before construction can begin. The project still requires a Queensland government's environmental authority , a Queensland government mining lease, and a water licence.
Follows Progress Of Its Asian Biz Model Satyakam Arya, who was VP, procurement DICV, will move to MFTBC and Mathew Oommen will take-over as VP, Supply Chain Management, DICV
Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of auto major Daimler AG, on Monday announced changes at its senior level in the light of progress of its Asian Business Model.
The model that was introduced by Daimler last year – combining the core strengths of MFTBC (Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation) and DICV under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia (DTA) –– is growing exponentially both at the operational and functional level. Subsequent to the first wave integration of R&D & Life Cycle Management functions, the organisation is expanding the scope of integration in Procurement and Supply Chain
Management & Logistics.
Satyakam Arya, VP, procurement DICV, will move to MFTBC, Japan as VP, Procurement, Daimler Trucks Asia, where he will also assume the role of Global Commodity Head of Mechatronics for Daimler Trucks, effective September 1, 2014.
Yasuhiko Kondo, GM, Life Cycle Management and Governance & Operations Management Procurement, MFTBC will take over the role of Vice-President, Procurement at DICV.
Following Erich Nesselhauf ’s elevation as MD & CEO of DICV, Mathew Oommen, AVP, Product Engineering will take over as VP, Supply Chain Management, DICV from August 1, 2014.
Arya has been with DICV since 2009 and has put in place an effective procurement system at DICV. During his stint, he helped set up a new supplier base for DICV catering not only to local requirements but also for Asia and global requirements.
Kondo has served in the area of Life Cycle Management and Procurement since 2005 at MFTBC, Japan.
Mathew Oommen has been involved in the product engineering and full vehicle integration and was actively involved for mediumand heavy-duty projects from inception at DICV.
