Tata chief sees fresh opportunities in China, US

Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry is looking at new growth opportunities across continents after substantially deploying the $35 billion capital expenditure he had earmarked about two years ago.

“The major impact of China's rebalancing of its economy is being felt in many countries,” said Mistry in his New Year letter to employees. “Tata companies are adapting to the situation decisively and with empathy; and while trade flows have been distorted as a result of China's transition, within China itself the shift to domestic consumption can open new horizons for our companies,” he said.

The capital expenditure for the last two years include spend on Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)'s launch of the Jaguar XE and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. China and the US are two large markets for JLR products. Other parts of the expenditure include commission of Tata Steel’s Kalinganagar plant in Jajpur district of Odisha, launch of new  the Tata Zica by Tata Motors, besides the aerospace partnerships of Tata Advanced Systems with global majors like Boeing, and  Airbus.

“Signals of a recovery in the United States economy portend new possibilities, as do growth-oriented factors in India and across Asia and Africa. The year ahead will both test the group's resilience and also present new paths to expand and seed new businesses,” he said in the letter.

He also said in order to continuously seize business opportunities, Tata companies will have to stay on top of emerging business technologies, particularly in digital space, while networking more closely blurring boundaries between departments and verticals.

Mistry cited examples of the group's technology platforms, across areas "such as energy, food and wellness, digital consumer products and services and the digital factory and fleets" on how Tata companies can come together to collaborate for mutual benefit.

“The year ahead will both test the group's resilience and also present new paths to expand and seed new businesses. To enhance and secure leadership in such an environment, we will have to become ever more agile both at a strategic and an organisational level,” Mistry said to the over six lakh employees of the group.

 

Stressing the need to be nimble-footed in a fast-changing environment, he said: "We need to identify opportunities with a sense of urgency. These will then need to be converted by unleashing pioneering entrepreneurship.”