Posted 17 July 2005 @ 09:33
PUNE (INDIA), 17 July 2005 - India’s second largest bike maker Bajaj Auto is setting up its first plant outside India in Indonesia, near Jakarta, chairman Rahul Bajaj announced at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) here on Saturday. Another operation would take off in Brazil in 18 months’ time, Mr Bajaj said. He also indicated to shareholders that free cash in the balance sheet will have to be used in product development, R&D and global forays.
“Bajaj Auto will have to execute a series of global forays that will require setting up of plants, acquisitions of companies, vendor and distribution networks and brand building to compete with renowned global players,” Mr Bajaj said.
A representative office opened in Indonesia in 2004-05. Bajaj has already announced plans to set up a joint venture there with a local partner to make three-wheelers. The Indonesia venture will be subsequently used to tap the Asean markets too. Executive director Sanjiv Bajaj said, so far the company had only exported products to other markets but it now had to take the next step of establishing its own operations in these markets. He said Bajaj Auto had already put in place a team in Indonesia under Klaus Biskup who is the company’s South-East Asia president.Mr Klaus, a former BMW man with experience of working in South-East Asia, will strategise the company’s foray into Indonesia. “This team is putting together a business plan not only for Indonesia but also South-East Asia and then replicate it in other big countries,” Sanjiv Bajaj said.
The rationale for the Indonesian operations, Mr Bajaj said, was that while the country itself accounted for seven million of the 32 million two-wheelers sold in the world, Asean accounted for another 6 million
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