Tatas to hold analyst meets in US, UK

For the first time, the Rs 45,000 crore (Rs 450 billion) Tata group is planning to soon hold formal analysts meetings in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Non-Executive Chairman Ratan Tata will be addressing the meetings on the group's diverse businesses and highlight the performance of some key group companies and their future plans.

Accompanying Tata would be group finance director Ishaat Hussain and several senior executives of group companies -- Tata Steel, Tata Power, Tata Engineering, Indian Hotels and Tata Tea.

The officials will be meeting the financial analysts, fund managers, research analysts, and investors in the next week.

According to a Tata group spokesperson, "The objective is to educate them, build relationships and present the credentials of the group and its companies."

The move follows the splendid performance by companies like Tata Steel, Tata Engineering, Tata Power and the unlisted Tata Consultancy Services.

Sources said the move to familiarise the international analysts community was critical in view of the imminent overseas listing plans for the group's software major TCS.

The results were above market expectations in terms of both topline and bottomline for the year 2002-03. Tata Tea and Indian Hotels are yet to announce the results, however analysts are of the opinion the results will not be good considering the depressed tea market for Tata Tea. But Indian Hotels is likely to be hit on account of SARS.

The meeting is riding on the success of group companies, they added and clarified that they are non-deal road shows, that is none of the group companies has any plans to raise cash from the overseas market right now.

Also, these companies have been spreading their wings abroad and today have an international presence.

Tata Steel is a major exporter of steel in the US and Europe, Tata Tea now owns Tetley, which has major presence in UK and North America, Indian Hotels is buying hotels abroad, Telco has got into a marketing alliance with MG Rover of UK and Tata Power is also looking at going overseas.