Many Indian Companies Put Expansion Plans on Hold
许多印度公司暂停实施扩张计划

　 
Many Indian companies are slowing expansion plans as they cope with the global economic downturn. It is a huge change from last year when Indian companies spent billions of dollars on acquisitions both at home and overseas.

为了应对全球经济下行，很多印度公司放慢了扩张计划。和去年很多印度公司动辄斥资几十亿美元在国内和海外的大举并购相比，这是个很大的变化。

A recent decision by Indian conglomerate Tata to defer expansion plans came as no surprise to industry watchers. The group chairman said recently that some of its companies with foreign operations are facing problems raising capital, and advised managers to put acquisitions on hold.

对于观察人士来说，印度汽车工业巨头塔塔(TATA)集团最近做出的推迟扩张的决定并不令人吃惊。塔塔集团董事长表示，该公司的一些海外部门集资困难。他同时建议经理们暂时搁置扩张计划。

It was a huge turnaround from the last two years, when the Tata group, like many other Indian companies, was on an aggressive buying spree. Tata's most high-profile acquisitions were its takeover of steel maker Corus last year, and the purchase of Jaguar and Land Rover earlier this year.

这个决定和过去两年形成鲜明对照。当时，塔塔集团和很多其他印度公司一样，展开大举收购。塔塔集团最抢眼的收购行动包括去年买下钢铁公司CORUS，以及今年早些时候从福特手中购入捷豹和陆虎这两个高端品牌。

Flush with profits from a booming domestic economy, Indian companies spent about $33 billion in 2007 on overseas takeovers. At the same time, they drew up ambitious expansion plans at home to benefit from growing consumer demand.

2007年，在国内经济景气支撑下赚得盆满钵满的印度企业总共花费了大约330亿美元用于海外并购。与此同时，他们还为国内业务勾划出宏伟目标，以期充分借助增长强劲的国内需求。

But most companies are rethinking those plans as a credit squeeze begins to bite.

但是，随着信贷紧缩，大多数公司开始重新考虑这些计划。

An economist at the Confederation of Indian Industry, Anjan Roy, says steadily rising interest rates in the last year are hurting industry.

印度工业联盟得经济学家安让.罗伊说，过去一年来逐步提升的利率正在殃及印度工业。

"Across the board companies, all sectors - people are complaining that they are facing this higher interest burden, and in the face of that they are cutting down investment plans. Expansion has been affected because of this credit squeeze," he said.

罗伊说：“这影响到所有行业的公司。企业抱怨高利率带来的负担。他们不得不因此砍掉一些投资计划。信贷紧缩已经影响到企业的扩张。”

The higher interest rates have also cooled domestic demand in the last year. The automobile sector - booming until earlier in the year - is reporting lower car sales. Builders are unable to sell homes, and demand for commodities such as steel has dropped.

高利率同时也给国内需求降温。在今年上半年之前相当火爆的汽车市场开始出现销售下滑。建筑商卖房变得更难。钢铁等大宗商品的需求开始下降。

The head of the economic think tank, RPG Goenka Foundation in New Delhi, D.H. Pai Panindiker, says many sectors have been affected.

新德里经济智库RPG基金会总裁帕宁迪克说，受到影响的行业不在少数。

"Automobiles have been cutting production," he said. "The other industries which are likely to be in trouble are textiles, for which the demand has come down very sharply, leather goods, chemicals is another industry."

帕宁迪克说：“汽车公司减产。其他可能遇到问题的行业还包括纺织业，纺织品的需求急剧下降。制革、化工等行业也是这样。”

Indian companies are asking the government to lower taxes, and cut interest rates to revive demand and protect them from the global slowdown.

印度公司要求政府减税、降息，以求刺激需求，帮助企业度过全球经济下行的难关。