The Hindu Business Line : One-upmanship game

Media persons on the corporate beat are keeping count of the hits and misses by the two Ambani brothers in their respective business ventures and the conclusion so far is that Anil Ambani has fared poorly in most cases. His attempt to bag the modernisation contracts for the Mumbai and Delhi airports was unsuccessful and his appeal against the Government decision did not pass muster with the judiciary.

Bagging contracts for coal-bed methane gas blocks resulted in partial success as the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group got four allocations against the six it claimed it should have got, but there was some consolation that the rival Mukesh Ambani group scored a zero. The committed gas for Anil Ambani's power project in Uttar Pradesh was held up at the official level, forcing the younger Ambani to finally move court.

People in the Anil camp are, however, still holding their chin up.

Their explanation is that most of the expansion plans of the ADAG pertain to infrastructure projects, for which natural resources have to be sourced and unless those who control these sources oblige, it is very difficult to move forward.

So, what is ADAG's plan of action? Move to States with powerful Chief Ministers who would not be easily swayed by the powers-that-be at the Centre. Any wonder then that Anil Ambani is now focussing on Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Orissa in a big way?

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