Textile
industry moving beyond 'quota blues'
Whopping
increase in the export figures, fresh investments and increased
entrepreneurship are few good things that liberalisation brought
for the SMEs in the apparel and textile sector. “The
ending of Chinese quota later this year will throw up a host
of opportunities for SMEs to further state their claim in
the global market,” says Sanjeev Mantri, GM & Head
– Cluster Banking, Small Enterprises Group, ICICI Bank.
More…
Wanted
an SME only stock exchange and deep bond market
India is facing
acute shortage of people with different cutting edge skills
like welders, plumbers, mechanics and electricians.A new stock
exchange exclusively devoted to Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs), a deep bond market and a move from debt to equity
are among the principal requirements if SMEs are to thrive
fully in India, to make loan procurement easier and to establish
networking to broaden scope and reach of SMEs.
More…
RBI should cut rates
to support economic growth: FICCI
Reacting to
the US Fed cut, industry chamber FICCI said the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) should also follow suit and cut the interest
rates to support the economic growth.
RBI should
cut the repo rate by at least 25 basis points this month itself
and then follow up with further cut of another 25 basis points
within next two months, the industry chamber said in a statement.
An impetus from RBI in the form of easy interest rate regime
would help provide necessary impetus to the growth. The RBI
must shift from its emphasis on controlling inflation to keeping
growth going. More…
It’s raining funds
in SME sector
Realising the high growth potential the Indian SME sector
offers a host of international PE funds are coming to India
to make equity and equity related investments in the SMEs.
Latest to join the list is the APF-I (fund) with a corpus
of $100 million (aproximately Rs 392.80 crore). The India-dedicated
PE fund would assist in the development of SMEs in India by
providing the much needed equity capital and professional
management advice.According to information available, the
fund which is going to be managed by Mauritius-based Horizon
Advisors with Mumbai-based Ambit Pragma Ventures Pvt Ltd as
the investment advisor, would make equity and equity-related
investments towards expansion capital in high growth, small
and medium enterprises (SMEs) including those located outside
the main Indian metro cities. More…
IIFT setting up online
hub for SMEs
The Centre for SME Studies at the Indian Institute of Foreign
Trade (IIFT), Kolkota is on course to create an online information
hub, catering to the need of Indian SMEs exporting their products.
It has recently signed an MoU with Microsoft India to jointly
develop software for the portal. The export-oriented online
portal will be loaded with basic trade-related data and information
for the benefit of SME exporters, K Rangarajan, head-Centre
for SME Studies, IIFT, told ET. More…
NASSCOM anounces program
for emerging companies in India
NASSCOM the
premier trade body and the “voice” of the Indian
IT industry, announced a unique capacity building partnership
program with CBI (Centre for the Promotion of Imports from
Developing Countries), Netherlands- for CBI’s Export
Development Program. This program is currently available exclusively
for NASSCOM member companies specifically in the small and
medium segment (Emerging Companies) that are looking to work
with European countries.
More…
IBM
to expand SME software services
IBM is planning to expand
its portfolio of software services for small firms employing
up to 500 staff. IBM said the services were for businesses
that wanted to focus on growing, instead of running, their
office systems. Among the developments; IBM Lotus Foundations
is a range of small business software servers, installed on-premises.
The servers are expected to be offered primarily through IBM
business partners.. More…
PTC
& Godrej Infotech to empower Indian SMEs
PTC (NASDAQ:
PMTC), The Product Development Company®, today announced
its partnership with Godrej Infotech Ltd, a leading provider
of high-quality Information & Technology solutions. As
part of the agreement, Godrej Infotech, a leading consulting
and implementation partner for all major ERP solutions, will
now sell and implement Windchill®, PTC’s production-proven
content and process management software and Arbortext®
PTCs dynamic publishing solution. This partnership expands
PTC’s reach across India’s SMEs, while allowing
Godrej Infotech the opportunity to offer customers a broader
and more robust product development solution. More…
SMEs
losing out to big business due to poor IT strategy
Research reveals that only 15 per cent of smaller businesses
have an effective IT strategy that allows them to compete
with larger competitors.
As many as
85 per cent of small to medium-sized companies (SMEs) feel
they are losing business to bigger competitors because of
a lack of IT and communication expertise, according to a survey.
In addition, only 24 per cent of SME decision-makers believe
that their business is able to respond very quickly and effectively
to customers, a view echoed by 51 per cent of employees, says
research commissioned by BT and Cisco.
More…
INTERNATIONAL
SAP
Further Strengthens Small and Midsize Enterprise Business
Unit with Two Major Appointments
SAP AG today
announced the appointments of Patricia R. Hume as senior vice
president, SAP Indirect Channel Organization, and Morag Lucey
as executive vice president, Global Small and Midsize Enterprise
(SME) Marketing. With the appointments of Hume and Lucey,
SAP continues to strengthen a global business unit responsible
for an ongoing market development among small businesses and
midsize companies. The company currently has more than 30,000
small and midsize customers, signifying more than 70 percent
of its total customer base and more than $1.4 billion (EUR
1 billion) in yearly software orders.
More…
SAS
plans to storm SME market
Software vendor
partners with specialist channel consultancy firm to recruit
more partners.Enterprise intelligence vendor SAS UK is planning
an assault on the SME market as it looks to ramp up its channel
by as much as 150 per cent.The vendor has partnered with consultancy
firm Delta International, which will work hand in hand with
SAS to recruit new partners and help it widen its geographic
and vertical market coverage. More…
Get
ready for SME recycling growth
Small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) will recycle more even without the pre-treatment
legislation in place, according to a Manchester-based waste
management company.With more and more SMEs having to follow
a multitude of legislation to reduce the amount of waste they
produce the pressure is on for them to comply or face hefty
fines. More…
IBM
targets Microsoft with SME-market acquisition
IBM boosted
its software portfolio for small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) with plans announced on 18th Jan,2008 to acquire Net
Integration Technologies, a software vendor in Canada. Net
Integration Technologies, which offers business management
tools, will be become part of IBM's Lotus division when the
deal closes, which is expected to occur this quarter. Terms
of the acquisition were not disclosed.
More…
USAID
puts up E175m for SMEs
SMALL and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been provided with a loan guarantee
facility over a seven-year period from USAID in conjunction
with Standard Bank Swaziland and Nedbank Swaziland. The loan
scheme is to the value of $25 million (about E175 million)
to be shared by the banks, where the USAID’s Development
Credit Authority (DCA) will grant a 50 percent guarantee on
SME loans.This is provided for by USAID’s DCA, a tool
that enables the organisation to issue partial loan guarantees
to private lenders so as to promote economic development activities.
The programme is part of the broader USAID-funded Swaziland
Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Programme (SWEEP) launched
in 2006, managed by TechnoServe. More…
UK Online
announces plans to offer Microsoft Hosted Exchange 2007
UK Online,
part of the BSkyB group, has partnered with Microsoft to bring
hosted services to small businesses. It plans to offer Microsoft
Hosted Exchange 2007 bundled into a service package that will
also include broadband access and website hosting. The hosted
service will provide small businesses with real-time access
to email, calendar and contact information. UK Online's Premier
package will be offered to small businesses for £24.99
per month including VAT and will be launched in March this
year. UK Online is targeting the service at very small businesses
(i.e. those with 1-10 employees). More…
ARTICLES
CRM is transforming
the Indian SME sector
Once seen as
a requirement only of larger organizations, CRM solutions
are being implemented even by the minnows, as they see huge
business growth potential in a vibrant economy
New Delhi: A big challenge most small and medium enterprises
face today is the stiff competition while marketing their
products and services. Not only do they have to work their
way up to establish credibility, they also need to retain
customers by offering prompt after-sales service of the highest
order.
It is in this context that several SMEs are beginning to seriously
look at Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as a tool to
push sales and build brand equity. There has been a significant
spurt in demand given the accelerated growth and competitive
scenario emerging on the business landscape.
Let us look at three scenarios that are clearly emerging in
the Indian SME market from a CRM perspective. More…
‘Forbes
Magazine Names Harbin Electric a Top SME
Harbin Electric,
Inc. , a market leader in customized linear motors, motor/controller
automation systems, automobile specialty micro-motors, and
other special motors, today announced that it has been ranked
number three by Forbes (China) magazine among the Most Promising
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in China.Harbin
Electric Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tianfu Yang
welcomed the publication of the Forbes list. He said: ''We
are honored to be ranked No. 3 among the 200 best small and
medium-sized enterprises in China. "This is a prestigious
list. Private SMEs are the dynamos of China's economy, and
the 200 companies on the list represent the fastest growing
group in the Chinese corporate sector. Harbin Electric is
a terrific example of this dynamism. Between 2004 and 2006,
we had average sales growth of 168%, profit growth of 160%
and a return on total assets of 33%. We have great products
and great employees. I am very proud to be recognized by Forbes
China as one of the top three in this outstanding group of
enterprises.'' More...
Do
banks know their SME clients?
The ability
of Indian banks to promptly evaluate creditworthiness of small
and medium enterprises is critical to ensure better accessibility
of credit by the vast number of deserving Indian entrepreneurs.
With diminishing emphasis on priority sector lending and deepening
of the market-oriented reforms in the financial sector, if
the credit accessibility issue is not addressed adequately
then there is a great danger of credit supply to the neediest
segment of our business dwindling, leading to horrendous socio-economic
consequences. The lending technologies of a bank can be broadly
divided into four categories: financial statement lending,
asset-based lending, credit-scoring and relationship lending
where the first three can also be clubbed together as transactions-based
lending.
EVENTS
Hosiery, Textiles & Garments Fair 2008
Hosiery, Textiles & Garments
Fair will be held on Feb 21st to 25th, 2008 at Shree Kanteerava
Indoor Stadium. Manufactures are going to display different
types of machinery, textile products, dyes, yarns, fabrics.
Display profile also includes manufacturers of laces, zippers,
buttons, sewing threads, ribbons, embroidery threads, sewing
needles, hosiery, readymade garments, textile yarns, fabrics,
dyes & fashion designers.
Knit
Vision 2008
Knit Vision 2008, 11th GTF
(Garment Technology Fair) will be held from 15th to 18th Feb
2008 at Welkom Palace. It is an exclusive exhibition of knitting,
sewing, embroidery, dyeing, finishing, cutting, machinery
- CAD/CAM & accessories. It exhibition held annually.
Second
International Pharamaceutical Event- 2008
Exhilarated and inspired by
the success of the first international pharmaceutical exhibition
Nepal Pharma Expo- NPE -2005, ASSOCIATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL
PRODUCERS OF NEPAL (APPON) and GPE EXPO PVT. LTD., Asia’s
leading Pharmaceutical Event Organizer are immensely pleased
to organize second Nepal Pharma Expo - NPE - 2008 schedule
during 16 - 17 February 2008, at Birendra International Convention
Centre, Kathmandu.
India
international leather fair (IILF 2008)
India International Leather
Fair (IILF 2008) from 31st Jan to 3rd Feb at Chennai Trade
Centre, Chennai, India) will offer global exporters and manufacturers
of leather goods and accessories, the ultimate platform to
showcase and launch their exquisite creations. The fair is
designed to be a focal point for sourcing leather and leather
products from the Indian sub-continent.
|
Disclaimer: