Rajat Gupta: Asia must create globally competitive companies

14 November 2003

Jaipur: Rajat Gupta, senior partner (worldwide), Mckinsey & Co, has said that to earn "the right to be called a superpower," Asia must create globally successful companies.

"Asia is expected to contribute over 30 per cent of the growth in world gross domestic product over the next five years, but merely contributing significantly to the global economy is not enough," said Gupta, addressing the delegates at the AdAsia 2003 here yesterday.

"What Asian companies need are truly global strategies, and not just international expansion tactics. Locally successful companies like Tata Motors must become globally competitive, because if they don't, their arena will be captured by established global giants."

The world economy is globalising, and the rules are different in an economy without geographic borders, he added. "Also, with increasing capital market and geopolitical volatility, including the threat of terrorism, only the truly global companies can withstand and be resilient to setbacks."

Among the top 2,000 global companies, including ICICI Bank, there are 238 'global leaders,' which have a strong global position in terms of a geographic footprint, market capitalisation and the ability to compete globally. There are 59 'global champions,' which are larger, constantly deliver profitable growth and are resilient, Gupta said.