Not going slow on global operations: Tata group
Tata group says it draws 70% of its revenue from global markets and a good portion of that comes from its two British acquisitions in the past decade
Mumbai: Undeterred by the trouble facing its steel operations in Britain, the Tata group on Wednesday said the strategy to globalize is not impacted by this development and that the company will continue to develop international presence.
The $110-billion conglomerate draws 70% of its revenue from global markets and a good portion of that comes from its two British acquisitions in the past decade—Corus Plc and the auto business under the Jaguar Land Rover label.
“Some people are assuming that now the Tatas are giving up on their global brands. (That is) far from the truth... Right now, 70% of our revenues come from international operations. We are actually now a truly global corporate rather than an Indian company," said Mukund Rajan, the brand custodian and group executive council member of Tata Sons.
“There has been a point of view that because of what is happening at some group companies, there is now an effort to consolidate back into India and that we are not so keen on overseas exposure... That is not correct," he added, citing the examples of Tata Consultancy Services and the hugely successful acquisition of the JLR.
The comments come in the wake of the reverses faced by the group with the Corus Steel acquisition, and the recent decision to pull out of its alloy business in Britain to contain the mounting losses.
The company on 29 March had put on block Tata Steel UK for sale in part or in full, as the business has lost its complete book value and was running into heavy losses.
Rajan said the journey to globalize its business has been an eye-opener for the conglomerate. “One of the reasons for that journey was purely to ensure we were testing our capabilities and competencies against global best in the markets where it counts, like the US, Europe and China. That has played a significant role in opening our eyes to what global success really requires," he said.
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