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While India is an increasingly attractive destination for foreign capital, the country is also becoming a significant source of outflows. Many Indian enterprises view outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) as an important dimension of their corporate strategies. This paper presents some data on the magnitude and composition of Indian OFDI. It also discusses the rationale for and empirical determinants of overseas acquisitions by Indian companies. The empirical findings suggest that OFDI from India is not entirely different from that of other countries in that they are motivated by many common factors. There is evidence, however, that Indian OFDI is more market- and resource-seeking than OFDI from most other countries. The paper concludes with a broader discussion of the impact of the global rise of Indian companies on the Indian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the determinants of the overseas direct investment activity of Indian manufacturing enterprises. In general, several firm-specific characteristics such as age, size, R&D intensity, skill intensity and export orientation are observed to be important explanatory factors in the outward foreign direct investment (O-FDI) activity of lndian firms. The impact of age and size on O-FDI has been observed to be non-linear. The product differentiation activities and the productivity of firms are other useful factors in overseas production expansion in certain industries. The study reveals that the performance of these firm-specific variables is subject to sectoral dynamics. Internationalization of production activities of Indian finns has been observed to be partly fuelled by policy liberalization during the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to examine the role of technological efforts and firm size in determining the export behaviour of firms belonging to the basic chemical industry in India. The basic chemical industry is an important industry that provides intermediate chemicals to firms operating in diverse industries in both India and abroad. In this study technological efforts have been considered in terms of in-house R&D, import of embodied technology, and import of disembodied technology. Three different econometric models, namely, the Tobit, the two-part (Probit + Truncation) and the sample selection (Heckman), have been used for estimation and the results have been compared. The authors find evidence in support of the view that export behaviour of the firm can be modelled in a more appropriate manner using a two-part or a sample selection model rather than the popular Tobit model. The results of the econometric exercise confirm that technological efforts, firm size and other firm-specific characteristics are important in explaining the export behaviour of the firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is twofold: first to examine spillovers from existing foreign firms in India to local firms and whether the technology gap between foreign and domestic firms has any role to play in influencing spillovers; and second, to investigate whether the liberalization of the 1990s resulting in increased inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has had any influence in increasing the productivity of Indian firms. Using panel data for 1840 firms from 1995 to 2005, this study finds that in a large number of industries domestic firms are more productive than foreign firms, thereby precluding the possibility of spillovers to all the sectors. Even in the sectors where foreign firms are more productive and the technology gap is accounted for, there is no evidence of spillovers resulting from the presence of foreign firms. Similarly, FDI inflow seems to have no impact on productivity once industries are divided according to the size of the technology gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]