The Hindu Business Line : Tata group eyes overseas sales of $5 b in 2004-05

THE Tata group is targeting an overseas sales of $5 billion this fiscal through a strategy that will encompass a mix of acquisitions, joint ventures and exports. The group had recorded sales of $3 billion last year.

"We are looking at greenfield projects, acquisitions as well as alliances to achieve the $5-billion international sales figure this year, but we will be selective about geographies. We expect overseas sales to increase to $10 billion in the next few years," Mr Alan Rosling, Executive Director, Tata Sons, told reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit held here on Tuesday.

"All major Tata Group companies would have to engage with the issue of being a global player. Some may decide to go global, while others may decide to concentrate on the domestic market, depending on the industry in which they operate.

"Even those companies, which decide to concentrate on the local market, will continue to access technology and other resources globally. We are discussing within our group which companies will go global, when they will do so, in which geographies they will operate and how will they go about it," Mr Rosling said.

The four companies that are driving the group's overseas sales are Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Indian Hotels. Two major acquisitions by the group in the recent past have been the announcement by Tata Steel to acquire the Singapore-based NatSteel Ltd and the acquisition of the commercial vehicles unit of Daewoo Motors by Tata Motors.