Tag Archives: India

Bollywood steps out

August 30th, 2010

An Indian journalist once recalled to me how his wife was serenaded by young men in Egypt and Turkey singing Bollywood songs. I myself had the pleasure of watching a film in Jaipur’s Raj Mandir Cinema and I’ve been a convert ever since.

So, I’m pleased to see the industry is making efforts to grow its overseas market. The Middle East is a natural destination. When the Bollywood film Lamhaa was recently banned in parts of the Gulf, the director fretted, saying the Middle East was the film industry’s third largest market.

The young and the restless

August 15th, 2010

China got old while it grew. The average Chinese is 34-years old. The average Indian is 24-years. It’s a big age-gap. It’s the difference between raising a family or searching for a first job.

It’s also one of the Silk Road’s biggest challenges.

The world’s youth population, aged between 15-24 years, is set to decline by 12 million people from now until 2020, according to United Nations estimates. Europe and the United States will account for most of the decline. But China will also account for its share.

Pakistan’s not so direct link has India worried

July 25th, 2010

It wasn’t much of a reply. But Qin Gang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, has stirred up India’s media. He was asked about plans to build a direct train link between China and Pakistan. He neither confirmed nor denied, instead talking about the strength of the relationship between the two countries. The question was asked after Pakistan’s President Zardari, currently visiting China, referenced the idea of a link.

Now, it’s too early to start booking tickets. This is an idea that has sat on the drawing board for a long time.

A Very Special Club

March 7th, 2009

Egypt, welcome to the club. It used to be only developed economies that suffered from collapsing auto sales. So, I was surprised to learn the other day that Egypt’s annual car sales have plummeted from 250,000 to 85,000 in the past six months. I imagine there are thousands of unsold cars parked in lots outside of Cairo just like there are in Detroit.

But don’t worry, Egypt, you’re not the only new member: car sales have also fallen in China and India. In fact, you can probably find mini-Detroits all across the Silk Road as unsold cars pile up.

The middle-class dream has turned sour. How so? The rise of the Silk Road’s middle-class was one of the region’s big stories of the past decade. And, importantly, the middle-class was a big buyer of cars, whether it was China’s Volkswagen Santana or India’s Maruti 800. In fact, more cars were sold in China, Egypt, and India last year than in the United States.

Silk Road Gallery

Archive
Canton Trade Fair
August 12th, 2010

Editorials & Articles

“China cheat sheet helps investors survive”, Bloomberg, September 1, 2010

“No more silver bullets for Beijing”, Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2010

“China’s historic return to the Gulf”, Foreign Policy, April 2, 2010

Speaking Events

International Monetary Fund, Washington, October 10, 2010

SuperReturn Asia, Hong Kong, September 29, 2010

The Global Pricing Forum, Hong Kong, September 14, 2010