Singapore Conclave: Amazing List of Speakers

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 Posted by Bhushan Bapat


The confirmed list of speakers 
  • Mr. Jignesh Shah - Group Chief Executive Officer, Financial Technologies Group (Owner of MCX and SMX)
  • Mr. Kasi Viswanathan – Regional Director, Noble Resources
  • Mr. Matthew Sullivan - Director, Energy Solutions, HSBC
  • Mr. Nicholas Trevethan - Sr. Commodities Strategist, ANZ Bank
  • Mr. Kiew Won lee – Structured Trade Finance, Bunge
  • Mr. Ho Meng Kit - Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Business Federation (SBF)
  • Mr. Vijay Iyengar - Founder & Former CEO, Agro Corp Intl (one of the fastest growing agri trading companies in the world)
  • Mr. K. V. Rao – Resident Director, Tata Power
  • Mr. T. K. Sengupta – Managing Director, MMTC Transnational Pte Ltd (MTPL)
  • Mr. Brad Ridge, CEO/Principal Partner, Grid Investment Capital
  • Mr. Manvinder Singh – Vice President, AFG Capital Management
  • Mr. Adrian Sim, Diamond Mine Capital



    Over 130 corporate delegates comprising the Who’s Who of Commodities Inc. & the finest Trade Financiers of the world have confirmed their participation at the conclave!!!
    Prominent names amongst them –
    • Managing Director – Cocoa Platform, Archer Daniels Midland
    • Global Co-head – Hedge Funds & Derivatives Sales, Royal Bank of Scotland
    • Managing Director – Global Oil & Gas Group, Standard Chartered
    • Senior Vice President – Enterprise Banking, Development Bank of Singapore
    • Senior Vice President – Commercial Banking, HSBC
    • Head of South East Asia, Eurex Frankfurt (Eurex is considered one of the "big three" derivative exchanges, along with NYSE Euronext Liffe and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange )
    • Executive Director, KPMG Corporate Finance Pte Ltd
    • Vice President, BNP Paribas Wealth Management
    • Chief Executive Officer, Tata Capital Advisors
    • Director of Policy, International Swaps & Derivatives Association

    No explanation required.

    The event is REALLY BIG !!!

    Go IIFT Go !!!

IIFT's Truly International Event: Commodity Trading Conclave In Singapore

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 Posted by Bhushan Bapat



Proud to be an IIFTian!


We are proud to announce that IIFT, Delhi sits at rank 7 in this year’s BT-Nielsen rankings of India's Best
B-schools, and is at the top among the three non-IIMs to be featured in the coveted Top 10.

While other B-Schools have dropped down a rank or two, IIFT has moved up the ladder steadily from rank number 11 in 2010 and 17 in 2009. In the backdrop of the global slowdown and recession, IIFT has successfully maintained its status as one of India’s premier B-School.

Not only does IIFT scores high on Faculty (Rank 4) and HR/Function Heads Rankings (Rank 6), it is also the most preferred destination after six of the IIMs and ISB, Hyderabad.
The rankings were base on scores obtained in a perception survey polling 1,732 stakeholders (MBA aspirants, current MBA students, young executives, recruiters, functional heads and full-time B-school faculty) across 13 cities spanning the top 60 B-schools in India.

Read more here. Watch the video below:

FDI in the Indian Retail Sector

Monday, August 08, 2011 Posted by Pratheesh

Author: Ratin Duggal

In 2004, the Delhi High Court defined ‘retail’ as a sale for final consumption and not for further processing. It is the final stage in the manufacturer to consumer cycle.

As per Press Note 4 issued by DIPP and consolidated FDI policy issued in Oct 2010, 100% FDI is allowed in the cash and carry wholesale trading and export trading category, under the automatic route. FDI up to 51% is allowed in the single brand retail category after approval by the Foreign Investment promotion Board (FIPB).

The third key point is what has the Walmarts and the Tescos sulking at India’s doorstep.

FDI is not permitted in the multi brand retailing category.

In July 2010 , the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Ministry of Commerce circulated a discussion paper on allowing FDI in multi brand retail. It does not provide any limitation on the FDI investment that can be done in multi brand retail. If implemented it will open doors to global giants who are waiting to take advantage of the growing Indian market. The share prices of Indian multi brand retail chains have seen an increase ever since news of this proposal hit markets. This clearly shows that notall fear the FDI that may come in.

In the current scenario unorganized sector accounts for nearly 93-95% of the total market share. The local haats and kirana shops dominate the markets and are a major source of employment for many. In fact after agriculture Indian Retail sector is the biggest employer and accounts for nearly 10% of India’s GDP.

The key points in favour of the opening up of the retail sector are greater accessibility to foreign markets and greater return for farmers. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables but due to lack of proper infrastructure (like cold storage units) billions of dollars of food is wasted every year. Although 100% FDI is allowed in cold storage, the lack of FDI in multi brand retail has discouraged any major investment in this direction.

The risk we run by opening up the sector is that millions of jobs could be in jeopardy. Also after entering the market the greater buying power of these retail houses could limit the price received by suppliers thus killing many MSMEs. It might also have social impacts as the divide between cities and villages will become greater.

Initially these retailers will be allowed to operate only in six major cities and the challenges faced by them are huge. Will single brand foreign retailers buy out their Indian partners? Will the franchisee model cease to exist? Also will multi brand retailers be able to penetrate into the rural market where the personal touch of kirana shops and the rapport they share with customers pose a challenge?

Eventually the sector needs to be opened up to put India on the map as a destination for global food sourcing and to better prospects for farmers. The key question is when?

In my opinion with the increase in microfinance institutions and multi brand Indian retailers we might see an increase in the market share of the organized sector. Perhaps we need to give more time to the Indian retailers to develop and improve upon their own processes. Definitely a deadline should be drawn by the government to not only assure foreign investors of the government’s inclination to allow growth but also to ensure that Indian retailers clean up their act and concentrate on greater transparency and cost competitiveness.

In another 3-4 years the Retail market should be opened up to trigger the next phase of growth in the India Shining story. This will give time to Indian retailers to gear up for the foreign investors and also to the foreign MNCs to understand the market sentiment better.

First Month at IIFT

Saturday, August 06, 2011 Posted by Arnab Chatterjee

Author: Dhruba Jyoti Chatterjee

MBA-IB 2011-13,New Delhi Campus

As I was walking past the Academic Block today, a bland piece of paper caught my attention. It said – Applications for MBA (IB) – 2012-14 (Full Time) available. I smiled. Not a long time back, I was one of the many aspirants seeking the right to call himself an IIFTian. Today, as I complete a month at IIFT, I can safely claim that I have completed (1/24) th of the journey towards that goal (Pardon me for the exaggeration, but the hangover of the business statistics quiz will take some time to subside!).

So, how has it been so far? The immediate responses from the heart are: Hectic, Demanding and Sleep-depriving. On most mornings, it becomes impossible to believe that water is chemically neutral, for it makes my eyes burn as I try to wash away the dreariness from them. The subjects haven’t made my life any easier. I now know how hard it is to ‘balance’ a balance sheet; the bell-shaped curve has made frequent appearances in my nightmares; I fail to see the difference between segmentation, targeting and positioning, beyond their spellings and pronunciations. In between shuffling the pages of the textbooks (cumulatively heavier than yours truly) and understanding acronyms/jargons/ fundae/formulae, I am also unlearning and relearning a few things; the alphabetical system, for example. In a world, where the evening begins at 23:59:59 and GAS is not just a state of matter, but part of your daily conversations and content for the answer sheets, alphabets have assumed a whole new meaning. The letter A doesn’t remind me of the fruit/product Apple anymore; nor does the ball represent the alphabet B. In my new world, A stands for Assignments, B for ‘Babloo ke Paranthe’, C for CV, D for Deadlines and so on and so forth. It’s easier to count the days when I faced a quiz than the ones when I didn’t. I almost feel the chairs greeting me as I enter the auditorium or the NCH, for I have spent more time with them than anyone else in the college so far. Yet, every night (technically morning) when I eventually hit the bed, I go down with the satisfaction of having spent the day productively, having learnt something new.

As I slowly find my feet in this new phase of my life, walking away from my comfort zone, I can see many others like me, frantically waving their hands – my new friends and mentors, welcoming me in this world of exciting challenges and wonderful opportunities. Well, the journey has just begun. And I am in no real hurry to finish it! Hopefully, we, the batch of 2011-13, shall make it a memorable one.