| Brazilian bus major Marcopolo SA is in talks with Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland to set up a manufacturing base in India. Marcopolo's Indian venture, if established, will be the 10th production base of the $750-million company, and will cater for the Southeast Asian market. |
| Marcopolo has got four manufacturing facilities in Brazil, and one each in Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, South Africa and Portugal. |
| Marcopolo Director-General Jose Rubens de La Rosa said his company had initiated talks with some Indian firms as its corporate strategy was to enter a new market in collaboration with a local player. Marcopolo was keen to enter China as well, he added. |
| The broad contours of the proposed joint venture suggest that the Brazilian company will mainly provide technology, while its Indian partner will take care of infrastructure, finance and other local issues. |
| The venture will, in all likelihood, initially produce top-end models and at a later stage, all the models in the Marcopolo product portfolio. |
| Jose Rubens de La Rosa, who came to the city to attend a two-day seminar being held under the aegis of Financial Times and IFC, said his company was looking for a chassis-maker for the proposed venture. |
| He declined to divulge the names of the companies Marcopolo was in talks with but when asked whether Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland were among them, he replied in the affirmative. |
| He said the proposed joint venture should be seen as an Indian outfit, dedicated to the cause of the country. |
| Asked how soon the venture would take off, he said, "One year would be a realistic target." |
| He also said the Indian venture was expected to be firmed up before the Chinese one. Marcopolo produces 16,500 buses a year. It exports to over 80 countries, including France, England, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. |
| DRIVING IN |
| The Indian outfit will cater for the Southeast Asian market |
| The company is keen to enter China as well |
| The Brazilian company will mainly provide technological input |
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