Wednesday, October 31, 2012

PI Industries Ltd. on the challenges of the pesticides sector

Salil Singhal, CMD, PI Industries Ltd. on the challenges of the pesticides sector

B&E: There is a lot of hue and cry about the excessive use of chemicals. What are your views?

SS: Pesticides usage has come up very recently while the fertilizers have been used for a long time. Today, we understand that there is a problem and we have identified it and it needs to be resolved.

B&E: Does pesticide industry face challenge from the genetically modified (GM) crops?

SS: Yes. The problem is that the science of pesticides is changing phenomenally. The whole science and technology of agri-chemicals has changed. Like pharma, the pesticides industry keeps changing quickly but that is not there in GM crops. The cost of new discovery is very high ($600-800 million and atleast 8-10 years to commercialise it). Then there are the regulations. Until 2005 companies were allowed ‘me-too’ registrations. This is where India has been the biggest looser The ‘me-too’ registration has nearly destroyed the Indian pesticide industry. We also have the most in-efficient and corrupt regulatory mechanism.

B&E: How do you see the growth by the Chinese market and its effects on India?

SS: There is a lot of illegal import by the fly-by-night operators from China. There are certain groups within the industry who are trying to bring in the Chinese agenda of reverse engineering.

B&E: How well suited are Indian pesticides companies for M&As. What about PI Industries.

SS: I have not seen many foreign companies taking up Indian companies. It would be too early to comment on this. We are definitely looking forward to M&As and are fully prepared to fit into any good deal that comes forward.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Auto company will cross the two million mark

Milestones matter. Targets titillate. five years ago, who would have dreamt that an indian telecom company will have 100 million subscribers. twenty years ago, who would have imagined that an indian company will report annual sales in excess of rs. one trillion. inevitably, one auto company will cross the two million mark. pawan chabra analyses the favourites & the dark horses.

Our entry level car will be the Maruti 800 and we will manufacture till the demand is there in the Indian market and till the point we can manufacture it viably.” On the other end, the other players are bullish on the segment that Maruti Suzuki has decided to ignore. Tata Motors’ Sanand plant (which will produce the ‘cheap’ Nano) will be operational by early 2010 and starting with the production capacity of about 1.5 lakh units for Nano in the first year, the company plans to stretch the capacity to five lakh units. Currently, the meagre 50,000 units of the Nano are being supplied from the Pantnagar facility. “The Sanand plant will be operational by January next year, which will have a maximum annual capacity of five lakhs. Once the plant is operational, the production of Nano will increase by many folds and once the strong demand in the Indian market is met, the plant will manufacture cars, for the European and African markets,” explains P. M. Telang, MD, Tata Motors.

Hyundai Motors India is also planning a car below Santro with an 800cc engine, which will take the volumes for the Indian subsidiary of this Chaebol to new heights. Moreover, the fact that Hyundai Motor Company is also positioning its Indian subsidiary as a global export hub for compact cars makes its chances all the more bright to reach the two-million milestone first. However, the biggest roadblock in this dream coming true for all the auto majors is the capacity constraint. Hyundai Motors India currently has an installed capacity of 6.5 lakh units and “we plan to sell around 5.5 lakh units in this calendar year but when we will reach the two-million mark is frankly out of my knowledge at the moment as it will take a lot of time from now,” candidly admits H.S. Lheem, MD, Hyundai Motors India. In fact, there are players like Ford, Toyota, Nissan and Volkswagen who are also trying to tap the Indian small car market as they have also lined up small car launches for the upcoming couple of years but it will take years more for them to be in the league of the top three giants in the Indian automotive industry.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, October 29, 2012

PRIMARY MARKET: IPOS

With two IPOs hitting its shores one can finally see some sign of life in the primary market again. But is the market really ready? manish k. pandey acts investor... oops investigator!

But, despite the optimistic signs in the fund raising environment, there is a looming tsunami that threatens any momentum: the Budget has projected a deficit of 6.8% of GDP in fiscal 2009-10 and to finance this, the government will borrow about $80 billion from the market, which may further squeeze out the private sector, directly impacting their fund raising capabilities (Knowledge@Wharton). This statement certainly supports the contrarians who believe that the market still has a long way to go before it can finally take on to the IPO rush. “In reality, there is no rush of IPOs. It’s only media hype. Despite the secondary market being on an upward trend since March this year, we have had only 4 IPOs/FPOs raising Rs.4.43 billion. There was a huge expectation that this Budget would set the right tone for the secondary market, a prerequisite for the primary market. But, the immediate market reaction has shown that it is not very impressed,” avers Prithvi Haldea, Founder and CMD, Prime Database.

Certainly, a sense of stability in the secondary market is critical for IPOs to happen. This is because, one, when the appetite for listed stocks is also minimal, to expect new issues to find favour is hard and second, an issuer has to take a call of a stable market at least 30 days ahead (the time it requires to open and list an IPO). Since this stability or continued buoyancy is still not being seen, IPOs are not happening. In fact, as many as 17 companies are holding SEBI approval (typically the last hurdle in the launch of an IPO) for months now to raise Rs.69 billion, but are not daring to enter the market. “So at best, the next 3-4 months can see only 34 companies (holding and awaiting approval) hit the market,” says Haldea. Raison d’être: Issuers are finding the future outlook uncertain.

This can be seen by the fact that despite nearly 700 companies wanting to do an IPO, just four companies have filed their offer documents with SEBI since April this year. This certainly points out in the direction that the market is not yet ready for another big wave of IPOs.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Sunday, October 28, 2012

JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro

If you are longing for an exotic experience amidst nature and wildlife, don’t bother to think twice and simply pick this luxury hotel, which offers its guests enticing cuisine, unique comfort and unmatched hospitality. It has been voted by Conde Nast Traveler as one of the Best Hotels in Latin America and one of the World’s Best Places to Stay. Watch out, for this Brazilian hotel is sure to cast a spell on you!

The view: JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro offers a gorgeous view of Copacabana Beach and an easy access to the major Rio de Janeiro attractions. Unmatched scenic view is what defines the JW Marriott Hotel in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Archi type: The interiors have been tastefully done and a lot of thought has been put into ensuring the guests’ comfort. The hotel’s modern yet elegant interiors promote a sense of timeless elegance.

Bon appétit: Sumptuous meals can be savoured at the Mediterranean speciality restaurant, Terraneo Restaurant. Relish some delectable sushi at the Japanese sushi and bar aka Taiyou Sushi and Sake Bar, which has a pleasing ambience that will not fail to trigger your appetite!

Around the corner: Situated at a prime location, the hotel is not far from the cluster of rain forests, which will enthrall the nature lovers. It is also in close proximity to the serene beaches, serving as a boon to those who’d want to sit back and soak in the sun or just take a refreshing dip.

From under the carpet: Rio de Janeiro is known for some alarming crime rates and social inequalities. At the hotel too you should be on guard and keen an eye on your belongings.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Friday, October 26, 2012

SMES: STOCK EXCHANGE

DSE’s SME exchange is worthy of applause, but they have to avoid becoming OTCEI

While getting funds is the problem for SMEs, the biggest road block for VCs and PEs in funding SMEs is lack of appropriate exit routes. And that is what the new exchange should provide. Avers K. G. Alai, Chief General Manager, SIDBI, “The entry norms should be relaxed with low listing and maintenance cost, and of course, investors interest must be safeguarded. Further, it must be ensured that the market has requisite liquidity.”

Certainly, if investors find it tough to dispose their holdings, that will be the biggest repulsive factor for them. And lack of investors will straight away bring the new SME exchange at par with OTCEI. That’s not all. Warns Vijay Chandok, Global Head – SME, ICICI Bank Ltd., “Like all cricketers on Indian streets do not get a place in Indian team, not all SMEs are worth listing.” For this the exchange need to check the quality of issuers to keep investors safe, and that necessarily means that the pool of SMEs DSE is looking at will shrink by a good margin.

Before opening up the exchange on October 2, 2009 (as planned) DSE must look into the fact that if AIM is successful today, then LSE’s direct support to the exchange has a bigger role to play in that. Though, MCX’s recently launched stock exchange MCXSX is a partner in this venture, considering their limited experience in the arena, DSE will need an active support from the bigger brothers, NSE and BSE. After all, it’s an opportunity that, if grabbed properly, can bring windfall gains for all and sundry.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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GEOPOLITICS:HILLARY CLINTON

Hillary Clinton visits India and tells Delhi that Barack Obama too is good for business

Taking the focus away from terrorism – and telling India that Pakistan was taking steps to counter terror – Hillary stuck to the traditional US policy on maintaining equidistance in South Asia. Instead, she focused on key environmental issues by asking India not to repeat American mistakes in contributing to global pollution and by passionately defending US demands for help in fighting terrorism. “We acknowledge now with President Obama that we have made mistakes in the United States, and we along with other developed countries have contributed most significantly to the problem that we face with climate change. We are hoping a great country like India will not make the same mistakes.” She was referring to Obama’s statement in Italy that the US had “sometimes fallen short” of its responsibilities in controlling its carbon emissions.

Nonetheless, terror is too important to ignore and Hillary cast India and the United States as allies in the fight against terrorism. “Yesterday’s bombings in Jakarta, Indonesia, provide a painful reminder that the threat of such violent extremism is still very real. It is global. It is ruthless. It is nihilistic and it must be stopped,” she said. Equally, her trip was about reassuring India that the Obama administration meant well. India’s foreign policy establishment has been a little suspicious of the US President’s intentions in areas that matter, like Kashmir, Afghanistan-Pakistan, non-proliferation, outsourcing and climate change. Experts’ hope that Obama continue from where George Bush left.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Sheraton Music City Hotel nashville

Located near the major office parks and away from the hustle and bustle of the city, where one can listen to the chirping of birds all day long, Sheraton Music City Hotel is the first choice of business travellers as well as those on vacation; the hotel is, in fact, the first choice for those who’d want to travel with their pets. The hotel serves as a small city within itself, with all amenities that one can desire; without mention, with unparalleled luxury and comfort.

The View: The winding road that leads to the hotel makes the drive pleasurable and once there, every corner of the hotel opens to sprawling acres of green. It allows its guests to walk around for hours together on the eye-soothing green pastures and even laze around under the trees in the fresh breeze.

Archi Type: Very modern in its design and architecture, the Sheraton Music City Hotel, with Georgian-style manor, has 410 spacious and luxurious rooms. Each of the hotel’s rooms is carefully constructed with one-of-a-kind artwork making it royal, lavish and cozy.

Bon appétit: One can taste the true essence of upscale southern cooking and experience the authentic old-fashioned southern hospitality in the Old Hickory Grill, which is the most sought after restaurant of the residents. But if just relaxation and a refreshing drink is the call for the day, one can lounge at the Veranda Lounge. It offers a variety of snacks and also has enjoyable music to give one just the right ambience to share light conversations and to have a rocking time with dinner and drinks.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, October 22, 2012

IRAN: ELECTION

Iran’s done well as a democracy

So much so that French President Nicholas Sarkozy branded the election result as a fraud and attributed the subsequent unrest as the result of Ahmedinejad’s failures in his first term. There were also many discreet protests against Obama’s as well as Sarkozy’s victory but these were never brought into limelight by the western media. Such petty gestures only show the Western world in a poor light, and elevate Ahmedinejad further in the eyes of the Iranian people.

In fact, Iran has proved to be a fine example of a democracy in this election. Going by voter turn out rate, Iran fared better than many successful democracies. Iran had voter turnout of 85%, slightly better than France, which had 84% in its 2007 presidential election and the US, which had a mere 61% voter turnout in 2008 presidential election. Rather than wasting their time in wishing Ahmedinejad away, the western world would do better to accept the reality and look to improve their relations with Iran.
 

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Sunday, October 21, 2012

SRI LANKA: LTTE

Peace can now be restored, but only if Tamilians are successfully restored to the mainstream

After protracted negotiations failed, Rajapaksa never, even for a moment, relented in venting the State’s fury on the Tigers. The general thinking is that this extreme strategy will not help bring the Tamil minority closer to the Sinhala-dominated mainstream. And the Sri Lankan army behaved much like the Russians did in the early phases of the Chechen rebellion. They used brute force – cutting off all possibilities of a reconciliation. There is growing consensus that the Sri Lankan government needs to learn from earlier conflicts in different parts of the world. The Irish and Chechnya models are just two to have found followers in recent times.

But the good part of this evil business is that regardless of the means that were used, the demise of LTTE means that Tamil parties in Sri Lanka can now contest freely and canvas among a wider range of Tamil population. This could not have been possible till Prabhakaran breathed incessant fire. What is now urgently required is greater social and economic equality. Self-rule alone can help bridge the Sinhala-Tamil divide better than the brute engagement that was witnessed of late. Finally, should Rajapaksa fail, he can always fall back on the good old doctrine of carrot & stick! The least he can do is to ensure that Prabhakaran himself does n’t become a role model!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Friday, October 19, 2012

The end is nigh... or is it?

Media accelerates doomsday speculations around particle accelerator

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) project not only promises – or at least aims – to unravel the mysteries of mass and matter, but also heralds a new era in supercomputing. A collective effort of engineers and scientists from over 60 countries, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – a giant underground tunnel dug in near Geneva – was officially launched in October 2008, and is set to resume operations anytime this summer following repairs. The LHC smashes sub-atomic particles called ‘hadrons’ into each other at high speeds to create conditions that existed in the nanoseconds following the purported Big Bang at the zero hour of this universe.

But before the first switch-on, doomsayers predicted the end of the world due to black holes created in high-energy collisions, and the media had given the experiment a Dr. Strangelovean import. Headline in the British newspaper The Sun before the official switch-on read “End of the world due in nine days”! Many scientists had to put up with supplications, petitions and even threats, despite their best efforts to explain the improbability of any such doom. Dr. Yashpal, renowned physicist and academician says, “In a nutshell, the media doesn’t understand anything. The LHC is one of the greatest attempts made by humans to understand why the world is the way it is… It’s like looking into the mind of God.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Stop right there dude!

Paul had the right idea, but wrong execution

W ith a personal current net worth of $2.2 billion, he is famous as the Chairman of the London-based Caparo group (also a philanthropist & prominent politician). But Swraj Paul’s true moment of glory was in 1983 when he gained infamy as a corporate raider with his bids on Escorts and DCM (then known as Delhi Cloth Mills). Paul, being a good friend of Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India got news that DCM had stepped back from the fertiliser complex for which a license had been granted to the company. And Gandhi supposedly asked Paul to step in to replace DCM. Paul launched hostile takeover bids for both DCM and Escorts at that time. Paul lost against protectionism, as he not only had to face a major opposition from both the families (Shrirams & Nandas) but also from various government run financial institutions like LIC and Reserve Bank of India, (particularly Dr.Manmohan Singh, then Governor of RBI). Even Paul admitted once in an interview and said, “At that time a lot of people thought too narrowly and missed the boat.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Great news for India!

Arindam chaudhuri, editor-in-chief, Business & economy

The government tried everything. They gave shopping holidays. They gave mass discount vouchers. But nothing could increase demand. However, every time a new breakthrough product – say, like an iPod – was launched, it was a sell out in the first week itself in Japan. The same with fancy new Louis Vuitton purses. The stores would run empty on the first day itself! It was only when companies like Toyota realised that they cannot keep selling cars endlessly to their home market that they went really aggressive in the western markets – and the rest is history. While General Motors is about to file for bankruptcy anytime, Toyota is now the world’s No.1 car maker! Japanese companies grew bigger by catering to the world markets when their home markets shrunk!

And the markets have to shrink finally after one level of affluence! And that’s great for the world. Because Earth needs sustainable development. It doesn’t need monstrous consumers who keep consuming at the cost of the environment and the Earth. There should be limits to growth; and consumers, for their mental well being, should not be converted into material dustbins for the profits of a handful of corporations. That’s why the Japanese recession has been good for the Earth. And what the Japanese – due to their small homes and culture – stopped doing years back, is finally going to happen with the west, now with this recession setting in. And nothing can prevent this from happening. No Barack Obama, no bailout packages. And thank God for that!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Some schemes for the working class

The UPA announced some schemes for the working class, but largely ignored the issues that really needed to be urgently addressed, says vikas kumar

It goes without saying that even such low minimum wages are not always paid. Seasonal variations in availability of work and calamities of various kinds – from drought to social conflict to reduction in demand – adversely affect employment and livelihoods on a regular basis. In the tenure of UPA government, Jan Swasthya Bima Yojana was launched, to provide cover of up to Rs.30,000 for workers below the poverty line. But a majority of the working class does not even have any idea about the benefits of the scheme till date. Interestingly, the Congress’ manifesto for this election pledges that, if re-elected, it will cover all families under the poverty line within the next three years. Moreover, as M. K. Pandhe, trade union leader, laments about another problem, “When banks are giving 8.5-9.5% rate of interest for 400 days, it is ridiculous that EPFO is providing 8% rate on 30 to 40 years deposit.”

The manufacturing sector, has been hit in the mid section by age old labour laws like the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 and the Factories Act of 1948. Provisions like restricted working hours for workers and restriction on contract labour discourage businesses. And ultimately, they are also affecting the labour market. The UPA also failed to address these concerns of the manufacturers, and take the initiative to herald a new era in Indian industry. That is extremely callous. If labour reforms are not done, entrepreneurship is discouraged, and it ultimately hits the workers hard.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, October 15, 2012

FORBES LIST: INDIAN BUSINESS TYCOONS

Indian business owners have been among the worst hit this year

Notable among the tycoons who lost the billionaire title were Vijay Mallya (UB Group), Ramesh Chandra (Unitech), Sameer Gehlaut (Indiabulls), Tulsi Tanti (Suzlon) and Jignesh Shah (MCX). Tough economic conditions in their respective sectors have led to this predicament. The only gainers were the Singh Brothers – Malvinder Mohan and Shivinder Mohan of Ranbaxy – whose net worth increased over the past year (currently at $2.6 billion). The sale of 34% stake in Ranbaxy, enabled them to add $550 million to their net worth.

The correction in the personal fortunes of these ‘once-a-billionaires’ has also lead to China displacing India as the Asian country with highest number of billionaires (28 tycoons) in 2009. However, the combined value of Indian billionaires stands at $107 billion, double their Chinese counterparts, which is a humbling $44 billion. Small mercy though. For, with experts opining that the current fiscal will be equally challenging for Indian business tycoons, considering the setback that equities witnessed in 2008 and the continued risk aversion amongst investors; it would be an uphill task for this year’s survivors to hold on to their positions for another year. And an even more challenging task for dropouts is to devise a comeback strategy to regain a position in the Forbes World Billionaires 2010. They will have to really come up with something dramatic to enthuse the stock markets.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Sunday, October 14, 2012

SONY: KUNAL DASGUPTA

Dasgupta’s successor will not find the going very easy

Circa 1998: Rajesh Pant is recruited by Dasgupta himself. Circa 2001: Sony mulls over replacing Dasgupta with Pant but Dasgupta smartly convinces the board against it. Slowly he puts Pant out of the management of major channels and finally Pant quits in January 2002; realising that he doesn’t have a promising future at Sony till Dasgupta is there.

Circa 2002: Sunil Lulla (now MD of Real Global Broadcasting) is hired as business head of Sony. Soon the board of directors feel that Lulla has the ability to succeed Dasgupta. Dasgupta deploys the same strategy with Lulla and makes him head a relatively insignificant division – the ‘digital & licensing business’. Lulla quits Sony in 2005.

Circa 2009: Dasgupta is finally asked to resign from MSM due to his faltering decisions, even when there is no clear successor to him. “Dasgupta has been always very proactive in killing any possible competition at personal level. Wish he would have shown equal proactiveness for the channel,” said an ex-senior official of Sony on conditions of anonymity. Manjit Singh, Chairman, MSM will be looking after Dasgupta’s duties till a new CEO is finalised.

Dasgupta has left Sony at number four in the GEC category with a meager channel chare of 8%, while leader Star Plus has 25% channel share, the neonate Colors commands 22% and Zee TV corners roughly 17% channel share (source: TAM, first five weeks of 2009). So the biggest challenge for the new steward of MSM will be to bring Sony back at least in the top 3 list in GECs. Besides, other channels need to be reworked. Like for SETMAX, a combination of cricket and movies has blurred its positioning. But much before that, MSM will have to resolve the conflict with BCCI regarding Big TV’s withdrawal from IPL’s on-ground rights. Failing that, MSM will have to pay Rs.1.37 billion (worth of BIG TV-IPL deal) to BCCI. Irrespective of Dasgupta’s achievements, the task for the next CEO seems unusually daunting, just like it was for Dasgupta when he became CEO.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Friday, October 12, 2012

RELIGIO-POLITICS: AN AGE OLD PHENOMENON

World politics and religion are as intertwined as Barack Obama to his advertent (?) omissions; a brief phenomonological debate

Critically, even US electoral behaviour is influenced by a candidate’s stance on religion. Because of his neutral stand on Catholicism, Democratic presidential candidate and non-Catholic Al Smith suffered electorally; while at the same time, John F. Kennedy was elected president because of huge Catholic votes. Anything out of the ordinary? JFK was the first Catholic US President.

But why blame Obama or other US presidents when the world smells of the same ‘fragrance’. The North Korean government has disseminated Juche quite strongly as the nationalist doctrine is against the spread of Christianity. China dramatically has officially even banned the Roman Catholic religion. In Iran, Ahmadinejad devices Iran’s foreign policy focussing on relations with the Muslim world. Iran doesn’t recognise the nation’s largest non-Muslim religion, the Bahá’í Faith, and persecutes them (Iran also punishes apostasy by a Muslim by death). Germany, Italy and Sweden have seen strong influence of Christian political parties for decades. Even African politics observes a very high religious influence. Take for instance, Sudan where the Umma party’s election manifesto was titled Nahj al-Sahwa, or manifesto of Islamic reawakening. In EU, there are 60 religious missions ‘influencing’ their ‘behind-door’ policies (the ‘non-Christian’ Turkey’s non-inclusion into the EU a crying example). In 2006, due to pressure from Catholic churches, Tony Blair’s government withdrew its proposal to introduce a mandatory requirement of reservation of 25% seats for pupils from non-religious backgrounds in faith-schools.

Jefferson be damned, the reality is that religious congregations have influenced US policy making on various issues too strongly, be it the Catholic church’s view on abortion or the black churches on US assistance for Africa or Southern Baptists’ on gay rights or Lutheran’s on physician-assisted suicide. Iran’s Ahmadinejad, in an open letter to ex-President George Bush, had written, “Whether we like it or not... the world is gravitating towards faith in the Almighty... the will of God will prevail over all things.” Poor man’s barking up the wrong tree. Gallup shows in its amazing 2008 US survey that since 2000 till 2008, the overall belief in God has dropped from 86% to 78% (in fact, close to 40% living in the western part of the US now do not believe in God). Chauvinistically, wine, women, wealth were the traditional destroyers of mankind. Religion is the newest addition. And Obama, well, he’s worried only about four of them, and yes, about non-believers too...


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

US: WEST ASIA

A recent release of classified documents shows how US has manipulated West Asia. A B&E exclusive

They have made an abortion of our peace move and sent in 200 flights of arms. We can run the Russians into the ground and we can call it an act of Russian treachery,” Schlesinger added. There was laughter in the room when Schlesinger added, “We had anticipated that!” Also, while the US was non-committal over a peace initiative, it was very active in securing its oil interests in the region. In July 1973, Henry Kissinger opened a clandestine channel to the Shah of Iran to synchronise the development of contingency tactics to snatch control of Saudi Arabia and its colossal oil riches, in the backdrop of instability in the House of Saud. “Any contingency planning on Saudi Arabia must be most hush-hush,” the Shah told Kissinger. He also added that he was a supporter of the Israelis.

Later Arabia''s King Fahd made an official visit to the White House when it was aggressively cooperating with the US operation to drive out the Soviet force from Afghanistan. Documents reveal that the Saudis also were clandestinely sponsoring US-backed Contra insurgents fighting the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. George Bush may have been a great damager in the Middle East impasse... but he is certainly not the only US President in that ‘Hall of shame’.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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