DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US-Based Defence Major Lockheed Martin Looks At Increasing Investment In India

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: US-Based Defence Major Lockheed Martin Looks At Increasing Investment In India 

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources ET
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - VISAKHAPATNAM January 11, 2016: US-based defence major Lockheed Martin today said it is encouraged about the recent liberalisation of India's FDI policy in the sector and is looking at increasing investments in the country. 

Phil Shaw, chief executive, Lockheed Martin India, said the 'Make in India' initiative of the government would help in boosting manufacturing in the country. 

"I think the opening of FDI in defence is encouraging and I think we will be able to do a lot more... We started in Hyderabad, we are looking at other parts of the country as well to invest," Shaw said at the CII Partnership Summit. 

During his visit to the US in September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met top Chief Executives including, Lockheed Martin Chairman and CEO Marillyn Hewson. 

The company already has manufacturing facilities near Hyderabad. 

Shaw said that the company would be working with local partners as "we move forward here in India". 

"We are an defence and aerospace company based out of the US... We are in India for a number of years now and for the last few years we begun manufacturing here," he said. 

Talking about 'Make in India', he said the programme focuses on what more foreign companies can do in India. 

Talking about 'Make in India', he said the programme focuses on what more foreign companies can do in India. 

He said that although the company has manufacturing facility in India "but that is kind of scratching the surface of what we could do here". 

Headquartered in US, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 1.26 lakh people worldwide. 

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources ET
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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DTN News: China Invests $40 Billion In Iran oil, Gas; According Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noqrehkar Shirazi

DTN News: China Invests $40 Billion In Iran oil, Gas; According Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noqrehkar Shirazi

Source: DTN News / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) TEHRAN, Iran - July 31, 2010: Iran's main economic partner China has invested around 40 billion dollars in the Islamic republic's oil and gas sector, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday. Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noqrehkar Shirazi also said that Tehran's oil exports to China fell by 30 percent in the first six months of 2010 compared with the corresponding period last year. "The volume (of Chinese investment) in upstream projects is 29 billion dollars," Noqrehkar Shirazi told Mehr news agency, adding that Beijing had signed contracts worth another 10 billion dollars in petrochemicals, refineries and oil and gas pipeline projects. He said China has also put forward proposals to participate in building seven new refineries in Iran. Iran, OPEC's second largest oil exporter, has a dilapidated refining sector, forcing it to import petroleum products such as gasoline to meet domestic needs. Noqrehkar Shirazi said that Chinese imports of Iranian oil fell in the first half of the year. "Although Iran is still among top 10 oil exporters to China, it is the only country which in the first six months of 2010 has seen its exports to China falling," he said. "The volume of oil exports to China in the first six months of this year decreased to less than 9.02 million tonnes or 66.12 million barrels. This shows a 30 percent decrease" over the first half of 2009, he added. In recent years, China has filled the gaps in Iran's energy sector left by Western firms forced out by international sanctions. In 2009, China became Iran's premier trading partner, with bilateral trade worth 21.2 billion dollars against 14.4 billion dollars three years earlier. Commercial ties between the two countries were almost non-existent 15 years ago, amounting to just 400 million dollars. According to official data, Western sanctions opened the way for Chinese companies, which last year directly supplied Iran with 13 percent (7.9 billion dollars) of its imports. Iranian estimates also suggest that an equivalent amount was imported indirectly through the United Arab Emirates in 2009. China backed the fourth set of UN sanctions against Iran over its contested nuclear programme, but Beijing has consistently urged the world powers to resolve the crisis diplomatically. On Friday, it also opposed the latest unilateral sanctions on Iran imposed by the European Union.

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*If Iran came close to getting a nuclear weapon, would Obama use force? Washington Post *China opposes EU sanctions on Iran Hindustan Times Voice of America - The Associated Press - Press TV - Telegraph.co.uk

DTN News: US Asks India To Raise Defence FDI Cap To 49%

DTN News: US Asks India To Raise Defence FDI Cap To 49% *Source: DTN News / Lalit K Jha/PTI / Washington (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - February 26, 2010: Buoyed by its armament majors securing multi-billion contracts, US has asked India to raise its cap on foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence sector to 49 per cent from existing 26 per cent.

Making a pitch for this, the Obama Administration also wants India to undertake more sweeping reforms to attract new investments, saying this will propel New Delhi to a higher growth rate. "Reforms to date have made Indian companies leaders in areas such as IT, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and now increasingly, in manufacturing as well as in clean energy. We hope India will seize the opportunity to undertake new reforms that will both attract new investment and propel higher growth," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake has said. He was more particular on opening up of the defence sector, saying, "we are urging the Indian government to raise the cap on foreign equity in Indian defence firms from 26 per cent to 49 per cent to provide more opportunities for US companies interested in defence sales in India." His comments at the Washington International Business Council meeting come as US defence majors Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other firms have bagged almost all the major Indian armed forces contracts worth more than $10 billion. These includes sale of Hercules C-130 J transport aircraft and Boeing P-8A maritime reconnaissance aircraft. US companies are in strong contention for sale of next generation fighter aircraft to the Indian airforce. Noting that the US recently had some important sales to India, Blake said there are significant new sales on the horizon, up to $18 billion worth of contracts, for which American companies are competing. Calling India as a rising global power, soon to be the world's most populous country, with a trillion dollar-plus economy, Blake said it is a model of a tolerant pluralistic society in the region. "And it is a country increasingly comfortable with working with the United States," Blake said. In July last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited India and launched a Strategic Dialogue which called for increased collaboration in a number of areas that fall under five pillars: strategic cooperation; energy and climate change; education and development; economics, trade and agriculture; and science, technology, health and innovation. In November, President Barack Obama hosted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the first state visit of his Presidency, calling India an "indispensable" nation. President Obama has also pledged to visit India in 2010, further underscoring the importance of India to the United States, he said. The State Department official said the strength of India's economy makes it the powerhouse of South and Central Asian regional growth. "The Indian economy has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world since 2003, averaging 8 to 9 per cent growth in recent years... India's economy grew about 5.6 per cent in 2009, and is expected to grow 7.7 per cent this year. If India can sustain its economic reforms, it has the potential to sustain close to double digit growth rates for many years to come," Blake said. One sign of India's prospering internal market is its growing middle class which now numbers about 300 million and is expected to double over the next 20 years to reach 600 million. To put that into perspective, that's roughly the size of the total population of the European Union right now, he noted. As part of the US-India Strategic Dialogue, the US government is working with India to expand business opportunities, he said, adding the economics, trade, and agriculture pillar of the Dialogue is particularly important for business. "Our trade has doubled just in the last five years. US exports to India were more than $28 billion in 2008. We expect that growth to continue into the foreseeable future as India's middle class continues to grow and as India's economy continues to open up. US investment also has grown very quickly, and now totals more than $16 billion," he said. "The strategic cooperation pillar also is expected to offer numerous business opportunities. Last year, our two governments agreed on an end-use monitoring arrangement that will help the process of technology transfer between our two countries, and I think there's scope for further progress in that area," Blake said.

DTN News: India May Allow Greater Foreign Investment In Defense Firms

DTN News: India May Allow Greater Foreign Investment In Defense Firms *Sources: DTN News / Int'l Media

(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - July 3, 2009: India may further open its defense sector to investment from overseas firms by increasing the legal limit of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the current level of 26 percent to 49 percent. The change is suggested in the annual Economic Survey of the Indian government, presented July 2 to the Indian Parliament. The Economic Survey 2008-09, which is an economic report card for the period of 2008-09, was presented to the Parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukjerjee. The survey also noted that foreign equity in defense production should be raised to 100 percent for high-technology defense equipment. While the suggestion in the Economic Survey is not law, Defence Ministry officials said the increase in the FDI limit has been favored by Indian defense planners, adding that the government is likely to issue a notification to this effect this year. India opened up its defense sector in 2001 to private participation for the first time, setting an FDI limit of 26 percent. However, though a number of overseas defense companies have tied up joint ventures with Indian private and state-owned companies, no major production centers have emerged as had been expected, the Defence Ministry officials said. India's defense offset market is targeted at about $10 billion in the next five to seven years, but no major capacities are building up in the private sector, which some attribute to the FDI limit to 26 percent. An executive of defense major Larsen and Toubro said no major joint ventures are coming up, and only memorandums of understanding are being signed between Indian and foreign firms. The executive advocated raising the FDI limit from 26 percent to 49 percent, and providing concessions to private sector defense companies to allow them to compete on a level playing field with the state-owned defense companies.