Thales eyeing more JVs with Indian companies
French defence and electronics major Thales is eyeing more joint ventures (JV) with Indian companies as it seeks to deepen its engagement with this country where it first established a footprint half a century ago. “We want to create permanent joint ventures with Indian companies in the private and public sectors,” Thales chairman and CEO Denis Ranque said. “We will bring in the technology and our Indian partners will bring them in the markets,” Ranque, who rarely interacts with the media, told. “We already have a joint venture with Rolta and are looking at one with Samtel, which is in advanced satge of negotiationl,” he said, declining to give further details. Samtel is one of India’s largest manufacturers of a range of electronic components like colour TV picture tubes, monochrome display and industrial tubes, glass parts, electron guns, heaters, cathodes and deflection yokes. Explaining need of the expected JV, Ranque said, “Through this tie-up, we will be able to leverage the broad spectrum of cutting-edge technologies, systems and solutions from Thales and Rolta’s leadership in the Indian market.” The JV will develop command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (C4ISTAR) systems for the Indian armed forces and for international markets. Thales, which expects orders of 250-300 million euro from India during 2008, has a broad footprint in the country’s defence and civil aviation sectors. Earlier this month, it signed a deal believed to be worth $50 million to convert four to six Indian Navy minesweepers into state-of-the-art mine hunters. Through DCNS, a company in which it has a 25 percent stake, Thales is also engaged in the construction of six Scorpene submarines at Mumbai’s Mazagon Docks, even as it is “completely open to collaboration” with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the fabrication and launch of satellites. Thales, which employs some 120 people in Delhi and Mumbai, will also ramp up its 150-strong IT operations at Chennai to 1,000 in the next few years. Globally, Thales employs 22,000 R&D engineers out of a total workforce of 68,000 employees in 50 countries with 2007 revenues forecast in excess of 12 billion euros.(IANS)