CEE Jan-Mar 2012

Geneva (8), while Bern shares ninth place with Copenhagen. "However, economic turmoil, high levels of unemployment and lack of confidence in political institutions make their (European cities) future positions hard to predict," said Slagin Parakatil , Senior Re– searcher at Mercer. The survey separately identified cities with the highest personal safety, ranking based on internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement effectiveness and the host country's international relations. Luxembourg tops this personal safety ranking. Baghdad (221) is the world's least safe city. Courtesy: The Indian Express, November 30, 2011 , New Delhi GUJARAT EMERGES COUNTRY'S TOP INVESTMENT HUB Gujarat has emerged as the most lucrative investment destination attracting the highest number of investment proposals worth Rs.16.28 lakh crore in 2011 , according to a study done by industry body ASSOCHAM. Gujarat has clocked a share of about 13.52% in the total live investments worth Rs.120.34 lakh crore at the end of the year, according to the ASSOCHAM study. "Out of the total proposals, Gujarat attracted 39.2% in electricity; 24.2% in manufacturing, 16.2% in services, 14.3% in real estate, 5.2% in irrigation and 0.9% in mining," said Bhagyesh Soneji , chairperson of ASSOCHAM Gujarat Council. "Out of the 20 industrial states, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka have clearly emerged as the preferred investment destinations by attracting 53.56 % of the total live investments " I said DS Rawat, National Secretary General of ASSOCHAM. Apart from Gujarat, Maharashtra attracted investments worth Rs.14.141akh crore. Courtesy: The Financial Express, February 14, 2012, Ahmedabad SANGHI INDUSTRIES TO FORAY INTO MAHA, RAJASTHAN,MP Gujarat-based cement company Sanghi Industries Ltd proposes to increase its presence in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Alok Sanghi, Director, Sanghi Industries, said , "The company has emerged as a major cement player in western India over the past few years. The company's 3 million tonnes per annum capacity plant in the Abdasa taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat is ranked as the second largest cement plant at one location in India. It is one of the major players in Gujarat and is now increasing its presence in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (MP)." Sanghi said that Gujarat has seen a 30 per cent jump in demand for cement from 14.23 lakh tonnes in December 2010 and it is higher by 11 per cent over November 2011 month arrivals of 16.67 lakh tonnes. For the nine months' period ended December 31 , 2011 , the cement arrivals in Gujarat stood at 130.14 lakh tonnes, an 18 per cent increase of 110.23 lakh tonnes for the previous nine months ended December 31, 2010. Cement arrivals in Gujarat during December 2011 have been the highest ever according to data compiled by the Cement Manufacturers' Association (CMA) and industry sources. At 18.55 lakh tonnes for the month of December 2011 , the arrivals have surpassed the previous all time high of 16.871akh tonnes in March 2011. "A spu rt in demand from infrastructure and government projects has led to a spurt in cement arrivals from within and outside Gujarat," said Sanghi. Courtesy: Construction Industry Review, Jan. 23, 2012, P12. JAVA CEMENTS A JAPANESE TOWNSHIP The Japanese have always been welcome in TN. Out of about 725 Japanese companies in India, about 286 are located in this state. Nissan, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Mitsui, Hitachi, Komatsu etc have a base in TN. Steps are being taken to increase the number of Japanese compan ies to 400 in a planned manner. Now a Japanese township is being planned on the outskirts of Chennai. Two-thirds of the 1,450-acre township will be used by industries, while the remaining will be residential. When a high-level Japanese team visited Chennai recently, CM J Jayalalithaa had a free– wheeling discussion with them on issues ranging from industrial corridors and port development to a high-speed rail network. Japanese companies-pre- dominantly into auto, manufacturing and high-cost investment industries in the state-have been enthusiastically facilitated by successive governments. But the Jayalalithaa regime is planning to set up exclusive Japanese clusters for their convenience. The Japanese government has already initiated the process of floating Japanese 70