'We were conservative about open market, but changed'

Traditionally a conservative business conglomerate, the Tata group had changed after the launch of economic reforms in 1991, acquiring global brands and performing better than peers, said Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata.

“We were too conservative about the liberalisation but tried to change when market was opened in 1991...We, however, did better compared to other companies in the open market,” he said during an interactive session organised by the Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry here last evening.

The Group was $5 billion in size when Ratan Tata took over the reins in 1992 as chairman of Tata Sons. It is going to be a $100-billion conglomerate this year, with a strong global footprint and wide interests ranging from salt to software.

Tata, along with successor-designate Cyrus Mistry, was here to participate in the 173rd birth anniversary celebrations of Tata Steel founder Jamsetji Tata.

Speaking about Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR), which Tatas acquired from Ford for $2.3 billion in 2008, he said, “The future of JLR is very good and China being the second largest market, we are hopeful of a very good future ... Unless the petrol prices goes high”.

Tata further said, “The US continues to be a good market for Jaguar, while presence in Asia is a growing momentum, particularly due to the meteoric rise in demand from car buyers in China. “We (Tata Group) have spent millions to earn a brand name over the years and finally succeeded,” he said, adding the Group bought the company a brand name world over.

On Tata Steel Europe (formerly Corus), another global major brand acquired by the Group, Tata admitted it needed investment and said the likely improvement in the economic situation would help the company.

He said, “It (Tata Steel Europe) was performing in the negative due to various reasons, including the prevailing economic conditions there and high cost of raw materials.”

“Our European operation need investment. Let the economic condition improve there, which I hope would take place fast, and (then) we will plan it out,” he added.

Tatas had acquired the Anglo-Dutch Corus Group for about British £4.3 billion (about Rs 36,000 crore) in 2006. When urged by the President of Adityapur Small Industries Association (ASIA), R K Sinha, to buy auto parts from local ancillary units, Tata said, “Ancillary products are being bought from Punjab and Gujarat on account of quality and sophistication of products.”

He added, “We are eager to become a partner in your growth but we cannot compromise with quality...We will not compromise with the quality of the products at any cost.”