March 28, 2008	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 19, 1429

NEW DELHI, March 27: India on Thursday revelled in Tata Motors’ purchase of British luxury motoring icons Jaguar and Land Rover even as analysts warned the $2.3bn buy could hit the firm’s bottom line.

“Indian Tiger rides Jaguar,” shouted the Economic Times in a banner headline as the country feted its new overseas corporate muscle in which firms are racing to gain a global footprint.

“Jaguar is now an Indian beast,” said the Times of India, adding, “The Empire drives back... It took a company from a former colony to come to the rescue of a beleaguered British brand.”

But analysts struck a gloomier note, saying Tata Motors part of giant Tata Group which last year staged India’s biggest foreign takeover when it bought Britain’s top steelmaker Corus for $13.7 billion faced a tough task in financing the buy and resurrecting the struggling brands.

They questioned if Tata would do better in plugging what was a financial sinkhole for ailing US Ford Motor Co which got less than half of what it paid for the two marques after investing billions of dollars to turn them around.

Investors also gave a negative reaction to the purchase, driving down shares of Tata Motors, India’s top vehicle maker, by 3.56 per cent or Rs24.2 to Rs655, underperforming the broader market which fell by just 0.44pc.

Still, this did not detract from the celebratory tone struck by India’s government or the corporate world.

“My congratulations to the Tatas... they have held India’s private sector flag high. The world is looking at India,” said Commerce Minister Kamal Nath.

Leading Indian industry group FICCI forecast more foreign buys by Indian firms, saying they “have developed a sharp business sense for locating global opportunities” and that the “meltdown in the US market and its repercussions in Europe” could create even more buying chances.

But analysts said Tata Motors had a lot on its plate.

The first challenge would be financing the acquisition, analysts said, with Tata Motors, whose long-term credit is already rated one notch below investment grade, seeking to raise funds in a tough global climate with the US-led subprime crisis making investors shun all but the safest debt.—AFP