Having established the UK and the USA as prominent destinations for businesses of its group companies outside India, the US$ 83.3BN Tata Group is now beefing up its presence in Africa as the region sees a radical shift towards industrialisation, hither consumption levels and increased investor friendliness, supported by more accountable governments. Although the US and UK still comprise a major portion of the Tata Group's international revenues, the emerging nations in Africa now offer new opportunities to group companies in the automotive, IT & Communications, Energy, Chemicals, and now Business Consultancy sectors, unlike the developed markets that have seen saturation. "Africa is the future food bowl of the world and we need to create capacities there," said R Mukundan, MD, Tata Chemicals, the world's second-largest soda ash manufacturer and India's largest branded salt maker. "We are taking baby steps there."
