Year 2000: Leading businessmen felt that the manufacturing sector was dying in India. Almost all the top business houses had slashed their proposed investments in local greenfield facilities by nearly 50 per cent. Competition from Chinese products and entry of mncs were forcing Indian firms to down their shutters.
Circa 2002: Indian manufacturers are scouting for overseas acquisitions. No, they are not buying small units in Africa or Latin America. Instead, the target countries include developed markets such as the US, Germany, UK and Singapore. In fact, 30 acquisitions worth over a billion dollars have been announced in the last 12 months.