Corporate Strategy

Kurdistan  is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurdish people form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. Kurdistan roughly encompasses southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), northwestern Iran (Eastern Kurdistan) and southern Transcaucasia (Red Kurdistan). The word "Kurdistan" is first attested in 11th century Seljuk chronicles.

Some Kurdish nationalist organizations seek to create an independent nation state consisting of some or all of these areas, while other organizations campaign for greater autonomy within the existing national boundaries.

Iraqi Kurdistan first gained autonomous status in a 1970 agreement with the Iraqi government, and its status was re-confirmed as the autonomous Kurdistan Region within the federal Iraqi republic in 2005. There is a Kurdistan Province in Iran, but it is not self-ruled. Kurds fighting in the Syrian Civil War were able to take control of large sections of northern Syria as government forces, loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, withdrew to fight elsewhere. Having established self-governing regions in an Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, they call for autonomy in a federal Syria after the war.

Task at Hand

Hike is India’s first home grown messaging app. It is a cross-platform messaging and voice over internet protocol (VOIP) service that also provides snackable content on the go. It was launched in December 2012 by Kavin Bharti Mittal, the son of Sunil Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom company with a user base of over 350 million. Hike’s initial strategy, after launching in December 2012, was focussed around enticing the youth of the country by giving everything for ‘free’. This made Hike hugely popular within a short span. Hike reached 100 Million users by the end of 2016. In 2018, Hike’s user base is still stuck at 100 million. Hike’s product portfolio includes its messenger, blue letters, Total (android redefined), UPI payments, etc.

Hike, which is valued at $1.4 billion, is one of the fastest companies globally to enter the unicorn club. It reached the milestone in just three years and seven months. Hike’s product portfolio includes its messenger app, hike wallet. Having raked in more than $261 million in five rounds of disclosed funding, the company has received more than its fair share of media attention for its announcements around new product launches, acquisitions, as well as partnerships. However, Hike is yet to announce a monetisation model that can bring in revenues in a sustainable manner even after more than five years of its launch. Like all major messaging apps worldwide, the services offered by Hike are completely free. Until FY16, Hike was earning its operating revenues through coupons that users bought to play in-app games, but gradually the company failed to build this up as a sustainable monetisation model. The company is also quite aggressive in rolling out new products to keep its 100 million user base engaged with new features. It is also eyeing a share of the untapped offline community of smartphone users.

Task At Hand

Your PMC has been approached by Hike to outline a monetization plan.

The deliverables shall include but are not restricted to the following:

Price Break Up of Hike services

Competitive Analysis of Hike services

Revenue Projections

Customer Retention Action Plan

The President gave assent to the controversial farm Bills passed by Parliament. Amid protests by farmers’ organisations across the country, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Punjab have said they might not implement the new laws, Kerala and Punjab have declared their intention to challenge them in the Supreme Court, and a Congress MP from Kerala, Prathapan T N, has already done so.

Projected as historic reforms, the government promises freedom to the farmers from the “villainous and exploitative” Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) mandis and from the middlemen who charge commission from trade in these mandis.

What are the broad arguments for and against the laws?

The government claims these Acts will transform Indian agriculture and attract private investment. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, provides for contract farming, under which farmers will produce crops as per contracts with corporate investors for a mutually agreed remuneration.

The protesting farmers fear that powerful investors would bind them to unfavourable contracts drafted by big corporate law firms, with liability clauses that would be beyond the understanding of poor farmers in most cases.

The Opposition says this would lead to corporatisation of agriculture, with the market, along with the monsoon, becoming an unpredictable determinant of the destiny of farmers. They argue that farmers can sell outside the APMC even now, and most in fact do, albeit after paying the required fees or cess.

In Punjab and Haryana, the epicentre of the protests, the market fee, rural development fee, and arhatiya’s commission are 3%, 3%, and 2.5%; and 2%, 2%, and 2.5% respectively. These are big sources of state revenue — with states not permitted to levy market fee/cess outside APMC areas under the new laws, Punjab and Haryana could lose an estimated Rs 3,500 crore and Rs 1,600 crore each year respectively.

A statement from AIKSCC said, farmer unions are demanding that the President should not give his assent to these 'undemocratically' passsed Bills, the government should withdraw them and a Bill that provides legal guarantee for remunerative minimum support price to all farmers should be brought in.

While the first allows direct trade between farmers and private agribusiness firms outside designated mandis, the second prepares the ground for contract farming and the third takes away most restrictions on stock holding by the private firms.

The Centre’s agri laws had roiled the Parliament last month and sparked farmers protests in several parts of the country as they see them as unfair and exploitative. The row also led one of BJP’s oldest allies, the Shiromani Akali Dal, to break away from the NDA alliance.

Congress-ruled states/UTs — Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Puducherry — are expected to soon call special assembly sessions to pass bills that will override the three controversial farm laws introduced by the BJP-led government at the Centre last month.

This came after Congress president Sonia Gandhi directed the states to consider passing laws under Article 254(2) of the Constitution, which would “negate the anti-agriculture Central laws encroaching upon the state’s jurisdiction”, according to a party statement issued last month.

While Rajasthan is planning to bring in an ordinance soon, Chhattisgarh and Punjab are contemplating legal routes as well to fight the Centre’s laws. Puducherry, meanwhile, is yet to draft a bill.

The Congress’ legal team has prepared a draft of the bill, which will be sent to the states for them to follow while preparing their respective bills. This has caused a massive barrier towards BJP plan over the long term and even making it lose its political support.

TASK IN HAND:

You have been appointed as a Political Consultant to the BJP. Your role is providing your guidance over the following deliverables using a PPT:

·      Strategies to lobby parties to support you on this

·      Strategies to ensure States apply this new law in their legislature

·      Plans, Campaigns and Strategies to regain the trust of farmers on this law

·      Infrastructure/Projects planned for proper implementation of the Laws Nationally

REITs, or real estate investment trusts, were created by Congress in 1960 to give all individuals the opportunity to benefit from investing in income-producing real estate. REITs allow anyone to own or finance properties the same way they invest in other industries, through the purchase of stock. In the same way shareholders benefit by owning stocks in other corporations, the stockholders of a REIT earn a share of the income produced through real estate investment, without actually having to go out and buy or finance property.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) can be an investment option for those seeking exposure to the realty sector amid lower demand and liquidity issues. Consider this. Embassy Office Parks, India's first listed REIT, has gained 50% since listing in March 2019 as against a 10% gain in the Nifty Realty Index and 5% return of the benchmark Nifty 50. Globally, the share of REITs in the overall real estate investment is quite significant. For instance, REITs—which were launched in the US in 1961—constitute 96% of the real estate sector’s total market capitalisation today. In other markets such as Singapore, Japan and Malaysia, where REITs were introduced over the past two decades, they account for 55%, 51% and 42% of the total real estate market cap respectively

Some of the leading companies have plans to tap this source. Bengaluru based developer Prestige Estates has created a REIT-ready structure with an expected REIT launch next year. Mumbai-based realtors Oberoi Realty and Godrej Properties, too, have proposed plans to launch REITs covering rent yielding assets. REITs are a great investment avenue not only for institutional investors but also for retail investors, who find it difficult to invest in the commercial real estate, which has a better rent yielding than residential properties. Unlike other equity investment s, REITs provide assured returns to the investors through a compulsory dividend distribution policy. REITs are mandated to distribute 90% of their net distributable income as dividend.

Bengaluru-headquartered Prestige Estates Projects is considering REIT for its income generating assets as its looks to monetise assets. Prestige Estates’ rental yielding assets is currently valued around Rs 10, 000 crore at 8% cap rate. The company’s rental income from retail and commercial properties is expected to reach Rs 2,600 crore in the next three-four years from Rs 927- crore exit rental income at present. “One way to reduce dependency on debt is to look at REIT and we are working towards it,” said Irfan Razack, Chairman Prestige Group. The company is also working towards India’s first retail REIT global investors bullish on developing countries such as India in the backdrop of success of India’s first REIT. “ It can either be office or retail portfolio that will go first for REIT,” said Razack. Prestige Group has more than 36 million sq. ft of under construction and upcoming office properties. It also has six malls in the pipeline in addition to 10 operational retail assets “We are in talks with global funds to float over $300-million commercial platform with a development potential of 10-15 million sq. ft,” said Razack. The fund raising will be a precursor to the REIT listing. The firm is also looking to expand presence in NCR, Pune and Pune and has recently acquired 50% stake to develop total 2 million sq. ft project with total 932 hotel rooms, 6.45 lakh sq. ft office space apart from a 2 lakh sq. ft convention

TASK IN HAND:

You have been appointed as the chief financial consultants for the Prestige Group to chalk out a full-fledged course of action for the ambitious Real Estate Investment Trust Issue and are required to dwell on the following during your presentation:

a) The specifics of the anticipated issue with the assets that will form the investment portfolio for the REIT.

b) Strategy to integrate REIT’s into the existing business model of Prestige.

Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded in 1985 as a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. Its net worth at the time was $60 Billion

Enron's complex financial statements were confusing to shareholders and analysts. In addition, its complex business model and unethical practices required that the company used accounting limitations to misrepresent earnings and modify the Balance Sheet to indicate favorable performance. It was handled by Arthur Anderson, an accounting company and its offshore dealings were handled by Mossack Fonseca & co.

The leak of the panama papers revealed irregular accounting procedures like 'Mark to Marketing' procedure which is a measure of the fair value of accounts that can change over time, such as assets and liabilities. Mark to market aims to provide a realistic appraisal of an institution's or company's current financial situation. Enron’s strategy was that if they bought a Power Plant, they would show it made a profit immediately and if the plant did not make revenue estimated, then instead of the loss, the company would then transfer the asset to an off shore corporation where the loss would go unreported .

This type of accounting enabled Enron to write off unprofitable activities without hurting its bottom line. They hid these losses from the investors. The share price dropped from $90 to $0.26 within a day. The Shareholders filed a suit of 40 billion dollars for their losses. More than 20,000 of Enron's employees filed a suit against them for compensation of $2 billion that was lost from their pensions.

Arthur Andersen was one of the first casualties of Enron's notorious demise. In June 2002, the firm was found guilty of obstructing justice for shredding Enron's financial documents to conceal them from the SEC. Several of Enron's executives were charged with conspiracy, insider trading, and securities fraud. Enron's founder and former CEO Kenneth Lay  is charged with six counts of fraud and conspiracy and four counts of bank fraud. The Attorney-General, had to withdraw from the investigation because he received Enron money, and lawsuits were the pipeline to force Vice-President Dick Cheney for details of his contacts with the company for their upcoming energy policies, the minutes of which were not mentioned to the congress.

Lay and Enron have been bountiful contributors to George Bush. Since 1993, company executives have donated nearly $20 million to him personally for his election campaign in return for policies favorable to the Enron company to which Bush had agreed to according to Lay. Lay also donated $1.2 billion in soft money to the Republican Party over the three years prior to Bush's presidential bid and his wife added $10 million for the inauguration festivities. The company has made donations to many Republicans too - 27 per cent of its political contributions.

The white house spokesperson initially had issued a statement by denying the allegations made on the President and said he is being set up by the democrats. However the leaked papers revealed massive amounts of funds being transferred to Bush and to some very important and powerful members who were the main reason for the victory of the Republican party and the scandal has damaged their and the party’s reputation and trust among the people . The President is on the verge of being impeached by congress for taking bribe.  A motion of no confidence is being brought by the Democrats

TASK IN HAND:

You as an external agency have been appointed by the Republicans to :

•           Create campaigns to avert public attention from the republican party and to restore its image along with that of its senior members amongst the public

•           Justify as to how your employers are not involved with the scandal.

•           Initiate a step by step plan of action to ensure Enron is not implicated in any manner as the republican party has implicitly made it clear that they wish to continue their arrangement with Enron.

•           How do you plan to save the President from being impeached?

PPT is required for this round

Frontier Communications Corporation (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Companyuntil July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and smaller communities, but now also serves several large metropolitan markets.

In addition to local and long-distance telephone service, Frontier offers broadband Internet, digital television service, and computer technical support to residential and business customers in 29 states in the United States. Frontier is the eighth largest provider of broadband internet in the United States with 3,735,000 subscribers. It is also the 11th largest pay television provider in the United States with 838,000 subscribers.

in February 2018. Frontier starts with the 8 percent year-over-year decline in revenue, outpacing attempts to cut costs. The ratio of operating income to sales in Q1 dropped from 16.1 percent to just 14.1 percent in the next year. In January 2020, Bloomberg News reported that Frontier was "asking creditors to help craft a turnaround deal that includes filing for bankruptcy by the middle of March", amidst declining revenue. On April 14, 2020, Frontier Communications filed for bankruptcy.  As currently filed, the restructuring plan would wipe out current shareholders, who’ve already lost more than 90 percent this year alone.

In August, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and The Utility Reform Network (TURN) filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the bankruptcy. It raises concerns about whether the company’s proposed reorganization plan is in the public interest.

It also questions whether the reorganized Frontier will invest in improved customer service. That includes service quality commitments, and broadband deployment under state and federal programs.

Task at Hand

You are the CSO of frontier communications who is supposed to present in front of the Board of Directors. You are supposed to create a ppt with the following deliverables.

·      Strategies to rebuild and improve its telecommunication services

·      Introduction of a new service or product to generate another revenue stream for the company

·      Strategies to compete with established telecommunication companies like Verizon and AT&T

·      Sources of fund and brief financial break up

After a year of savage cuts and restructuring following a disastrous IPO attempt that saw then-CEO Adam Neumann evicted and the company’s value plummet, WeWork’s new head says he finally sees profitability on the horizon for 2021 and, if all goes well, another IPO WeWork famously had a failed IPO attempt last year, which ended with a multi-billion dollar bailout from SoftBank

Profitability achieved, Mathrani says he will “revisit the IPO plan” — the last plan dramatically collapsed in 2019 and saw the company enter into a tailspin, hemorrhaging value to less than 90% of its $47 billion peak, selling off assets, renegotiating contracts and laying off around a third of its workforce.  

When the IPO happens, all of WeWork’s units and franchisees around the world will roll into the parent as per existing agreements, Mathrani said. The startup’s valuation has tumbled more than 90% from its peak of $47 billion.

WeWork’s meteoric rise was followed by a calamitous fall. Within the space of a decade, it expanded from a single coworking office to a company with hundreds of locations and thousands of employees in cities around the world, along with a coterie of corporate clients, businesses and freelancers making use of the service. At various points it was the biggest private office tenant in London and New York.  Though its valuation was high, and grew until its $47 billion peak, the company burned through money, made spectacular losses and ran on a business model many in commercial real estate determined highly questionable: signing long-term leases and subletting space, typically to freelancers or businesses, on a short-term basis.

It has started various diversified Ventures, which include:

a)     We Grow

b)    We Live

c)     We Work Labs

Along with numerous subsidiaries. These ventures and subsidiaries have given mixed performances. They have shown potential but various inefficiencies has led to them being hardly working out well as a whole. The company has to make key decisions on what lies ahead for the company and these ventures on their way to profitability.

Task in Hand:

You are working under the CEO to set a strategic plan for the company and its future IPO. Prepare a PPT covering the following deliverables :

·      Strategies to become profitable by IPO

·      Subsidiaries/Ventures chosen to be integral to growth plans:

a)    Give expansion plan for these Subsidiaries/Ventures

b)    Any new Ventures/Subsidiaries to be launched

·      Revenue Projections

·      Timeline for the IPO

·      Strategies to ensure second IPO isn’t a failure

Iraq and other members of OPEC+, a grouping of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and nations such as Russia, struck a deal in April. Under that, Baghdad had to curb its daily production by around 1 million barrels -- worth roughly $40 million -- to 3.6 million. The idea was that supply cuts would raise crude prices enough to make up for lost exports. While prices have more than doubled since the agreement was struck to $40 a barrel, they’re still down almost 40% this year, languishing at levels far below what Iraq needs to finance its budget. The government’s monthly revenue, at $3 billion, is less than half what it was last year.

Iraq may be the world’s third-biggest oil exporter, but its economy is cratering after the coronavirus pandemic sapped global demand for energy and caused prices to collapse. The state’s finances are so dire it can’t pay teachers and civil servants on time, threatening a repeat of the upheaval that last year brought down the government and saw hundreds of protesters killed.

That’s created a dilemma for 46-year-old Abdul Jabbar, a chemical engineer and career oil man who’s now caught between the demands of an angry population and the pledges made to allies in OPEC. The cartel of oil exporters is trying to bolster a fragile market by reining in supply and it needs major producers like Iraq to toe the line. For Iraq, restraining supply carries a massive economic – and political -- cost. But breaking ranks is risky too: it could mean lower prices for everyone.

Iraq has already breached its output limit on several occasions and angered OPEC+’s de facto leaders, Saudi Arabia and Russia. The danger for them is that Baghdad starts to push even more barrels onto the market to eke out every last dollar it can. Iraqi officials have repeatedly said they’re committed to the agreement, that they’re pumping in line with it and willcompensate for over-production.

Iraq, where oil accounts for almost all government revenue, is in about the worst position. Its gross domestic product will contract 12% this year, more that of any other OPEC member under a production quota, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts.

It’s been in chaos for much of the period since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein, suffering civil war, insurgency by Islamic State and a push by the Kurds for independence in the north, a major oil-producing region. While OPEC+ includes all of Iraq’s production in its calculations, the Kurdistan region has its own say over oil policy.

The latest crisis is causing divisions between lawmakers and Prime Minister Mustafa Al- Kadhimi, who only came to power in May. His administration says it won’t be able to pay Iraq’s roughly 7 million public workers and pensioners next month unless parliament approves a law allowing the government to borrow an extra $35 billion. Opposition politicians say the country’s debt is already too high and and its leaders can’t be trusted to take on more. Iraq’s dollar-bond yields have surged almost 300 basis points since early September, an indication investors are fretting. At more than 10%, they’re the highest in the Middle East.

As one of the five original members of OPEC, which was founded in Baghdad in 1960, Iraq’s unlikely to quit the organization. If it did, it would risk Saudi Arabia retaliating by increasing production and sending oil prices even lower.

The formation of a new government in May 2020 ended months of political deadlock, but fiscal pressures, political rivalries, and limited institutional capacity present serious hurdles to reforms—such as strengthening governance and tackling corruption—that remain critical to long-term stability in Iraq and regionally.

TASK IN HAND:

With the government under a great dilemma last thing it wants is an uprising against the government. This is a delicate situation and you have been appointed as a advisor to the government to help it out with the existing set of issues. You have to prepare a PPT presentation which will be presented to the cabinet of Iraqi Govt., which should at least cover the following:

Plan to Finance government deficit

Long term plan to break reliance from oil revenue and diversify

Strategies to tackle Iran-US crisis on their land

Plan to make economy investor friendly over the next 5 years

The Japanese automaker was facing a crisis after a string of costly recalls and other quality blunders and it needed to plot a new course. In the 1980s and much of the 1990s, the name Honda struck terror into the hearts of executives at the big three U.S. carmakers in Detroit because they simply couldn’t match its low-cost, efficient, well-built cars.

But after a slew of recalls since 2014 for problems with components such as airbags, sliding doors and engines, Honda’s status as a benchmark for quality and efficiency has been seriously damaged - and the quality crisis is hitting profits.

According to five Honda insiders, quality blunders have helped squeeze the operating margin at its global automotive business to 2%-3% - giving it less room for maneuver just as bigger rivals are building partnerships and overhauling their operations to become stronger.

A senior engineer at a technical center north of Tokyo in Utsunomiya, where Honda does much of its development, said the root of the problem was the “crazy complexity” of its vehicle range and all the associated engineering processes. In the United States, for example, Honda’s 2020 Accord sedan comes in 13 versions, including three hybrids. GM’s rival Malibu has five, though it doesn’t have hybrid models.

Honda’s problems stem largely from an aggressive expansion before Hachigo took over in 2015. In addition to so-called global models such as the Civic, Accord and CR-V sports-utility vehicle (SUV), Honda developed a host of regional models which now account for 40% of its global car sales. The explosion in the number of regional models had an unintended consequence: the engineering became more complex and the elevated workload led to lapses in quality and costly recalls, two company sources said.

Further this even complicates the supply chain which also needs some serious rework. The Company has also set its eye on having a comprehensive shift to EV. This is key to survive in the industry over the long term. But again this wont be easy until the company fixes its existing issues.

TASK IN HAND:

You have been appointed to help Honda revive and rework various parts of its operations which are acting as a hinderance to its growth. Prepare a PPT covering the following:

DELIVERABLES:

·      Strategies to streamline various processes

·      Supply Chain Reforms

·      Strategies to strike a balance in Vehicle Ranges/Models

·      Strategic plan to move into EV

Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabhi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will build a new $44 billion mega refinery and petro chemicals complex in India's western port of Ratnagiri. The state owned companies signed a framework agreement and memorandum of understanding with an Indian consortium to jointly develop the Ratnagiri refinery and petrochemicals limited (RRPCL), with an expected production capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day, Saudi Aramco said in a statement. Ratnagiri is situated 346 kilometers south of Mumbai. In accordance with the agreement, Saudi Aramco and ADNOC will jointly build, own and operate the complex in collaboration with a consortium of Indian national oil companies currently consisting of Indian Oil Corporation (IOCI), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL).

The refinery will boost the petroleum industry in India and will directly improve the economic situation in the country. The partnership between Saudi Aramco and ADNOC marks a significant step in regional energy partnership and cooperation, bringing together two of the world’s leading National Oil Companies as Strategic partners with the Indian consortium”.

Saudi Aramco’s president and CEO said the refinery project was being built to ensure that India has “secure, reliable energy feedstock for its long term prosperity.”

By investing in the giant Indian refinery, the national oil companies of leading OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and the UAE would secure off-take for their crude in a strategic fast-growing oil market in Asia.

However, the process of land acquisition for the new giant complex was put on hold late last year due to strong opposition from local farmers, many of whom depend on their land for their income and livelihoods.

Before the elections, the former chief minister of Maharashtra state, Devendra Fadnavis, announced that the planned refinery would be relocated to another site, without specifying it. According to Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RPPL), the joint venture company responsible for the huge 1.2 million bpd complex construction and development, the refinery is expected to be commissioned by the year 2025.

According to FGE, the first phase could be ready in 2027-2028, and even this could be an optimistic timeline, considering the recent development.

Task At Hand

With the new Udhav Thakrey led government in Maharashtra, who were against the refinery since the initial stages of the project, the project has been put on hold by the government. The venture will also have to deal with the farmer protests and the environmental hazards of a refinery in a populas state like Maharashtra. The consortium of Saudi Aramco, ADNOC and other Indian companies have approached your consultancy clear the obstacles of this project and also lay down the future plans of operations keeping in mind all the factors that are affecting the venture

The following areas of concern have been highlighted by the client:

·      Negotiation strategies with the government to obtain the official clearance and permissions.

·      Suggest an appropriate Location keeping in view the opposition from the farmers and Environmental bodies.

·      Give the phase wise implementation plan and future roadmap.

·      Measures to prevent public outrage or resentment.

·      Effective relocation and compensation strategies for the local farmers.

Create a ppt with the following deliverables 

India’s Tata group, the sprawling $111 billion jewelry-to-salt empire, is getting a huge digital makeover.

The conglomerate is building an all-in-one e-commerce app for its swathe of consumer products and services, a person familiar with the matter said. The prototypes, which consolidate all of the group’s consumer-facing businesses and existing online assets, are ready and a launch is expected by end-2020 or early next year, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential matter.

Tata is also seeking to catch up with rivals such as Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc.’s Flipkart and new entrant, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd., who have unveiled grand plans for India. Reliance just finished raising more than $20 billion from investors, including Facebook Inc. and Google, for its digital services platform, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has bet $6.5 billion on growth in the world’s second-most populous country.

Tata Digital Chief Executive Officer Pratik Pal is in charge of building the app, the person said. Pal has three decades experience at Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., where he was global head of retail, and helped with the digital transformation of some of the world’s largest retail chains including Walmart, Tesco Plc, Aldi Inc., Target Corp., Best Buy Co. and Marks & Spencer Group Plc..

The all-in-one app, wants to capitalize on the scope and scale of the Tata Group, which also makes cars, air conditioners, smart watches and tea. It operates luxury hotels, airlines, utilities, an insurance business, departmental stores and a supermarket chain. In addition, it owns brands like Tetley and Jaguar Land Rover and runs Starbucks in India.

TASK IN HAND:

TATA Board appreciated your work in the deal making process. It has decided to take your consultancy towards its entrance in the field of E-commerce. Make a Report Covering At least the following deliverables. You can attach/add any other deliverable you wish to.

DELIVERABLES:

·      Features of The All In One App

·      Strategic Acquisitions And Partnerships

·      Short And Long Term Plans/Objectives

·      Timeline For The Project ( Phase Wise Implementation Plan )

·      Funds Required

·      2 Print Ads Promoting The Project

Create a report for the same 

Greenland is the world's largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The area has had a widely disputed history over the course of the past 2 centuries. The island currently has a population close to 58,000 people only.

 Natural Resources

As the Arctic ice continues to melt due to global warming, Greenland’s mineral and energy resources – including iron ore, lead, zinc, diamonds, gold, rare earth elements, uranium and oil – are becoming more accessible. The political establishment in Greenland has made natural resource extraction a central part of its plans to become economically self-sufficient, and ultimately politically independent, from the Kingdom of Denmark. This will be no easy task, and it is made more difficult by Greenland’s rapidly aging population. Global market developments are even less favourable in the short term for commercial production of offshore oil. The conditions in Greenland are very harsh and technically demanding, and the costs of extraction high.

The Greenland government has been making progress in preparing for large-scale mining projects, with some success. The government has been appropriately cautious in developing regulatory structures and building environmental safeguards, while at the same time trying to create an attractive investment climate.

Greenland is widely believed to hold excellent potential for a host of natural resources, including zinc, lead, gold, iron ore, heavy and light rare earth elements, copper, and oil. Considering that only a small fraction of this massive island has been properly explored, in the coming years more data gathering, and analysis would be helpful to assess the full potential of Greenland.

 Investments

Though Chinese companies have featured prominently in public debates in both Greenland, Denmark and beyond, in fact we found little evidence to support the idea that Chinese firms are eager to invest in Greenland, despite substantial efforts by the Greenland administration to attract them. Chinese investment in iron ore, for example, has slowed in recent years after a series of ill-advised investments in Western Australia have proved unprofitable and have become a burden on the domestic iron and steel industry. In addition, while there has been widespread concern in Greenland about the potential influx of several thousands of Chinese workers to construct an iron ore mine, we note that for a population the size of Greenland, which has only 56,000 people, the sudden arrival of several thousand workers should always be a cause of concern, regardless where these workers come from. Nevertheless, this is a reality Greenland will have to face if it is to develop large scale mines.

In its quest to secure alternative resource suppliers, the European Union has eyed Greenland with great interest. In recent years European policy makers have developed raw materials policies in which Greenland features prominently. Though it seems too early to draw definitive conclusions about these policies, it is our impression that Greenland can benefit from European support, as its fishing industries have for many years, and that vice-versa Greenland could someday become an alternative supplier of some commodities to Europe. The case of rare earth elements though, which has made headlines in recent years, is at least partly based on misconceptions of China’s interventions in the global rare earth supply chain, and in particular on an apparently incorrect understanding in many western capitals that China has shown a willingness to cut off its supply of rare earth elements during times of conflict. There are also concerns about China’s dominance in the global supply chain.

 Strategic Importance

President Donald Trump had expressed interest in buying Greenland. But it had become clear Greenland had no interest in selling, under a self-rule act passed in 2009, Greenland has control over its domestic infrastructure or economic policy issues, but Denmark maintains veto power on security issues.

However, the U.S. doesn’t really need all of Greenland for strategic reasons, because of the basing agreements it already has, including one of the U.S. military’s most important strategic tracking systems. Located on the north-western coast of Greenland, Thule Air Base is the U.S. military’s northernmost base and the only installation north of the Arctic Circle. It is home to the 12th Space Warning Squadron, a cadre of Air Force officers and enlisted personnel that provide 24/7 missile warning and space surveillance using a massive AN/FPS-132 radar. Thule’s position on the globe and its radar’s 240 degrees of coverage — which projects over the Arctic Ocean and Russia’s northern coast — make it an ideal location to track intercontinental ballistic missiles and satellites in low-Earth orbit, including polar orbit satellites.

Besides being a critical site for missile defence and space situational awareness, Thule hosts the Defence Department’s northernmost deep-water seaport and airfield. Those assets would come into play in any sort of military conflict in the arctic, giving the Pentagon forward- basing options if needed.

In 2018, a Chinese government-owned firm was announced as a likely winner for a contract to build a new airport. The 3.6 billion Danish krone (U.S. $560 million) contract would have given China major economic power over the local government, and decision makers in both Washington and Copenhagen worried it could lead to the U.S. being pushed out of Thule – or give Beijing a ready-made airport that could accommodate Chinese military planes in case of a conflict. Eventually Copenhagen and Nuuk reached an agreement, with generous financial support from Denmark’s coffers, to pick a different contractor. But it is likely that China will continue to push for entry into Greenland, underlining its strategic importance once again.

All these variable make Greenland a strategically important site for both China and the USA.

  Task at Hand

The Year is 2020 and the Government of Denmark has decided to open up tendering bids for Greenland considering the high maintenance costs and pressure from both the countries. An acquisition of Greenland would give the United States permanent possession of an island that is crucial to its defence. The country would acquire vast amounts of natural resources—whether found or expected—including petroleum and rare minerals. Climate change may by 2030 make the Northern Sea Route the first of the Arctic shipping routes to be ice-free, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and greatly improving accessibility of Greenland's resources.

The United States would become the second-largest nation in the world by land area, after the Russian Federation. It would be the single-largest territorial acquisition in American history, slightly larger than the Louisiana Purchase.

As a representative of the US Government, you are tasked with extensively filling the tender. Before filling the same, you have been appointed by the President to draft a report  with detailed information for the following deliverables-

1.      Details of Bid Pricing for Purchase of Greenland (Can also be an alternative to money)

a)      Pricing Details

b)     Sources of Funds

c)      Terms and Conditions of Payment

d)     Strategies to Strengthen ties with Denmark

2.      Vision, Mission and Tier-wise Objectives for the Island

3.      Strategies to Develop the Island and make it suitable for economic development

4.      Sub-Contracting the Work of Oil Exploration and Drilling

a)      List of Companies and their Purpose

b)     Terms of Contract with the Companies

c)      Payment Structure and costing of Oil Exploration Rights for the Companies

d)     Draft a Tender Invitation Letter (Purpose of Tender, List of Requirements, Terms of Payment)

5.      Sub-Contracting the Work of Mining

a)      List of Companies and Their Purpose

b)     Terms of Contract with the Companies

c)      Payment Structure and Costing of Mining Rights for the Companies

d)     Draft a Tender Invitation Letter (Purpose of Tender, List of Requirements, Terms of Payment)

6.      Strategic Alliances for Development of Greenland (International Partners- Both companies and countries)

7.      Strategies to Attract FDI in Island

8.      Plan of action to develop SEZ’s in Greenland

9.      Strategies to make Greenland a strategic base from a military point of view

a)      Letter of Objectives

b)     Plan of Action

c)      Analysis of Sites to develop Defense bases and their strategic Importance

10.  Strategies to Gain Control over the Arctic Circle

11.  Extensive Cost breakdown of all the above mentioned plans

12.  10 Year GDP forecast of Greenland with Breakdown of revenue

13.  Extensive 15 year Phase Wise Implementation Plan

Submit a report with the above mentioned deliverables by 10:00 PM tomorrow. (10:00 PM IST, 8th November, 2020)

In no particular order the top 7 for VISTAS 2020 is :

CAP 5

CAP 8

CAP 9

CAP 23

CAP 24

CAP 26

CAP 35

For a temple that is being touted as one of India’s biggest, and is expected to cost “several hundred crores”, the Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, the trust set up by the Centre to oversee the construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

The temple is considered to be one of the biggest hotspots in the country. Not only will the temple generate huge revenues but will create a huge ecosystem around the area. But the U.P Government wants to take a more modern approach and have come together with the Ram mandir trust to set up an Investment Portfolio that will start with a small corpus of Rs. 50 Crore and will continue to increase as the revenues come in.

You have been appointed as the official fund manager and have been given permission to invest in the following segments:

·      Equity

·      Debentures

·      REITS

·      Commodity

·      Real Estate

·      Private Equity

·      Any other investment instrument you want to use.

You are required to formulate a portfolio and you can invest in any number of avenues as mentioned above. Deliverables expected:

·      Percentage wise portfolio division ( Portfolio info has to be detailed : In terms of companies invested in for Equity and Debentures, Percentages per instrument, Type of commodity if any etc.)

·      Fundamental analysis of equity investments

·      Returns Expected over a period of 3 Years

·      Any other deliverable you deem necessary.

In no particular order,

CAP 4 CAP 5 CAP 8 CAP 9 CAP 22 CAP 23 CAP 24 CAP 26 CAP 30 CAP 35

MAKE A DEAL LIKE TATA

The Mistry-family owned SP Group has proposed a plan of separation from Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. involving shares of listed Tata Group companies, to end the decades-old partnership between the two. This exclusive relationship got strained over time with issues ranging ouster as Tata Sons chairman in October 2016, Cyrus Mistry and entities owned by his family filed a suit of oppression and mismanagement against Tata Sons and its shareholders. While the National Company Law Tribunal decided against him, the Mistry family won in appeal at the NCLAT. Tata Sons has appealed the case in the Supreme Court where it is currently pending. Further Tata Sons rejected the approach of S.P Group to pledge their stake in order to raise more debt.

This plan follows the SP Group’s announcement in September that a given the four-year long legal battle between the Mistry family and Tata Group the “mutual co-existence of both groups at Tata Sons would be infeasible”.

The SP Group has proposed:

·         A selective reduction of capital at Tata Sons thereby extinguishing shares held by them.

·         In exchange, SP Group be granted shares in listed companies of the group.

·         Also, cash consideration or shares for brand value, unlisted assets etc.

An illustration of the proposed separation plan:

·         72% of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. is owned by Tata Sons.

·         SP Group’s ownership of 18.37% translates to 13.22% shareholding of TCS.

·         Hence, 13.22% of TCS be transferred to SP Group

Were the SP Group’s separation plan to be implemented, its stakes in listed Tata Group companies where Tata Sons holds a stake, would approximately range from 4% to 13.5 %.

Even thought the plan is very comprehensive and could even solve issues related to Valuation. But It is unlikely Tata Sons would agree to the same as this gives S.P a prolonged stake in the company and even more exposure. Tata Sons is adamant towards buying the stake out for once in all to end this strained tie.

But the buyout isn’t that simple after all. Investment bankers and finance experts say Tata Group’s offer to buy back SP Group’s shares involves various layers of complications. The first issue that will crop up will be the valuation that both parties will agree on. Another issue is that over the next one month, Tata Group will have to work out a financing plan to show how it will fund that acquisition and what will it put as lien for that borrowing.

Except for TCS, not many Tata Group companies are in great shape — especially their steel and auto and power business having huge debt.

 If it chooses any approach like Buyback or Capital reduction they too carry their own complications with laws. On the other hand, if Tata Group plans to bring in some global investors to buy these shares, market participants say such investors would want to know how Tata Sons would provide them an exit 7-10 years later as Tata Sons is an unlisted entity.

 This clearly shows how this deal is complicated but as it is in every case there is always a feasible strategy to solve the issues. All of it lies in the details of the case.

 TASK IN HAND:

You have been appointed to help Tata Sons plan the Stake Buyout. Tata Sons is not interested in the exact plan S.P has proposed. You have the freedom to propose the buyout plan which can be a modification of the S.P Plan or a different approach. In any case you have to take in to considerations the issues that come with different approaches along with the preferences of TATA sons as a priority.

Prepare a detailed report that at least includes the following:

DELIVERABLES:

·         Situational analysis

·         Deal mechanism Proposed:

a)      For SP Stake Takeover

·         Timeline for the deal

·         Plan to resolve/settle other legal issues with S.P

·         Valuation of S.P Stake

·         Funds Break Up

SUBMISSION TIME 12:00 PM TOMORROW (7/11/2020)

It is said that Alexander the Great introduced opium to India as early as 330 B.C.; while uncertain if it was actually Alexander the Great, it is clear that opium had been a significant part of Indian culture before British imperialism. The Portuguese, who first observed Indian opium use in 1600, stated that opium was widely used and was highly valued in society. Opiums role in culture was just as important when the British East India Company established itself in India. The Company took control of opium production and established a state monopoly. The opium trade was very lucrative and was imperative in paying for the cost of imperialism in India. This task is based on the time period of 1830-1839. The Second Opium war ended in 1842, which removed all legal barriers of the opium trade to China and substantially increased production.

The British obtained profits from the opium trade through the state-controlled monopoly in Bengal, collecting pass fees from the Malawa opium producing region, and imposing excise taxes on domestic sales.3 The profits from the Bengal region were the most extensive and comprised the majority of British revenue from opium.

This product was the primary source of Britain to reduce their trade deficit with China. Britain and other European countries undertook the opium trade because of their chronic trade imbalance with China. There was tremendous demand in Europe for Chinese tea, silks, and porcelain pottery, but there was correspondingly little demand in China for Europe’s manufactured goods and other trade items. Consequently, Europeans had to pay for Chinese products with gold or silver. The opium trade, which created a steady demand among Chinese addicts for opium imported by the West, solved this chronic trade imbalance.

At the same time, opium addictions led to various problems in China and reduced the overall productivity of the workers and the Qing Dynasty planned to take strict measures against the same.

Task at Hand

The Year is 1839, the Qing Dynasty and Britain are at the brink of war and this will have a large impact on the East India Companies revenue generation. You are the CSO of the East-India Trading Company and you are requested to form a plan of action containing the following deliverables:

1.     Substitutes for Opium in trading

2.     Setting up a new trade cycle (Supply Chain)

3.     Negotiation Strategies with the Qing Dynasty

4.     Man-Power Planning for New Crop Growths

5.     Strategies to Suppress Indian Insurgent Groups

6.     Phase wise implementation for the next 10 years.

7.     Future strategies for expansion