For India, China has always been the formidable, bigger brother. Losing at war may have crushed Nehru; but that apart, the mighty Himalayas have traditionally acted as a natural barrier.
Besides, the sheer size and redoubtable strength of its economy has deterred many an Indian company from dropping anchor in China. There seems to be an innate Indian fear of being overpowered by aggressive Chinese entrepreneurship.
The recent example of Chinese state oil companies -- armed with superior diplomatic and financial muscle power -- piping India, sometimes unfairly, to lucrative crude acreages in Sudan, Angola and Kazakhstan is just one instance of the ingenuity displayed by the Red Dragon. In this context, GAIL chairman Prashanto Banerjee's attempt at forging an equity partnership with China City Natural Gas Holding Company (CCNGH) -- a subsidiary of the giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) -- is a commendable first step. Both sides have had preliminary discussions and a confidentiality agreement is to be signed shortly as a prelude to a possible financial partnership.
To be pragmatic, no Indian petroleum company is better equipped than GAIL to work in China. GAIL has some well-earned kudos to its credit:its success at converting what was arguably one of the world's most polluted fleet of city buses to CNG in Delhi, as well as its efficiently-run city gas networks have impressed even its staunchest critics.
The company is now pursuing similar projects in Egypt, the Philippines, Iran and Turkey. But doing business in China -- in the midst of shifting regulatory policies and frenetic competition -- requires grit and staying power. While it is difficult to predict whether GAIL can stay the course and make the mark, the gas major's foray will hopefully open up larger vistas of cooperation in the oil sector between the two wary neighbours.
Petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar is expected to argue for cooperation in place of antagonism between Chinese and Indian companies for exploration acreages abroad when Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visits New Delhi next January.
If you can't fight the enemy, sleep with it. Trite as that may sound, what is likely to clinch the overture is whether or not the Chinese are willing bedfellows ?
Via: IndianPetroBesides, the sheer size and redoubtable strength of its economy has deterred many an Indian company from dropping anchor in China. There seems to be an innate Indian fear of being overpowered by aggressive Chinese entrepreneurship.
The recent example of Chinese state oil companies -- armed with superior diplomatic and financial muscle power -- piping India, sometimes unfairly, to lucrative crude acreages in Sudan, Angola and Kazakhstan is just one instance of the ingenuity displayed by the Red Dragon. In this context, GAIL chairman Prashanto Banerjee's attempt at forging an equity partnership with China City Natural Gas Holding Company (CCNGH) -- a subsidiary of the giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) -- is a commendable first step. Both sides have had preliminary discussions and a confidentiality agreement is to be signed shortly as a prelude to a possible financial partnership.
The company is now pursuing similar projects in Egypt, the Philippines, Iran and Turkey. But doing business in China -- in the midst of shifting regulatory policies and frenetic competition -- requires grit and staying power. While it is difficult to predict whether GAIL can stay the course and make the mark, the gas major's foray will hopefully open up larger vistas of cooperation in the oil sector between the two wary neighbours.
Petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar is expected to argue for cooperation in place of antagonism between Chinese and Indian companies for exploration acreages abroad when Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visits New Delhi next January.
If you can't fight the enemy, sleep with it. Trite as that may sound, what is likely to clinch the overture is whether or not the Chinese are willing bedfellows ?
by Santanu Saikia
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