By Kavaljit Singh | Op-Ed, The Economic Times | April 7, 2009
Since 2007, India and European Union (EU) are negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA). The negotiations do not merely cover trade in goods but also include liberalisation of trade and investment in banking services. EU is seeking greater market access and national treatment for European banks through cross-border supply and direct investments.
Unlike other bilateral agreements, the potential implications of India-EU FTA would be far-reaching since nine EU-based banks together controlled 65% of total assets of foreign banks in India in 2008. By asset size,…
Since 2007, India and European Union (EU) are negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA). The negotiations not only cover trade in goods but also services, rules pertaining to intellectual property rights, cross-border investments, competition policy, government procurement and regulatory issues. One of the key themes under negotiation is the liberalization of cross-border trade and investment in banking services.
The 70-page Special Report questions the policy framework and objectives of opening up banking sector under the FTA. The report argues that…
By Kavaljit Singh | Commentary, VoxEU.org | November 20, 2008
French President Nicholas Sarkozy has proposed that European nations create sovereign wealth funds to protect national companies from foreign “predators.” This column says that idea is protectionist and without merit. Emerging economies establish sovereign wealth funds to invest foreign reserves or commodity revenue – not to bail out domestic firms and stifle global competition.
In a hard-hitting speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on October 21, French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed that European countries create sovereign wealth funds to protect national companies from foreign “predators.” “I’m…
By Kavaljit Singh | Jointly Published by Madhyam and The Corner House, October 2008
Western politicians, business leaders and commentators seem paranoid about state-owned sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), particularly those from the Middle East and China. They fear that SWFs follow strategic political objectives — investing in Western companies and banks to secure control of strategically important industries such as telecommunications, energy and banking – rather than commercial interests.
A protectionist backlash against sovereign wealth funds is fast emerging: the US, Canada, Australia and Germany have introduced substantial legislative changes to screen and restrict…
By Kavaljit Singh | Jointly Published by Madhyam and The Corner House, October 2008
During the last two decades, private equity became an integral component of the world’s financial system at a time when financial markets overshadowed the productive economy. Private equity was invariably behind the multi-billion buyout deals, and mergers and acquisitions that swept across the US and Europe, creating a new type of corporate conglomerate that is reshaping the way business is conducted.
Insofar as it constitutes a new form of corporate ownership, private equity poses new challenges to labour unions, NGOs…
