L&T Trust holding is to ring-fence c from hostile bids: A M Naik

On completing 50 years in L&T

I always wanted to be in L&T. My first ambition was to get a four-figure salary and I worked hard. But I never thought that I would be chairman of L&T one day.

On key challenges for L&T

India is an open economy. Today, we have to compete with the best globally. We will have to constantly upgrade technology.

On ownership and restructuring

We have faced hostile bids in the past. But whenever L&T came under cloud, we have survived. The reason is that we work like a family. Today 32% of the company is held by government institutions, and 12.75%, held by L&T Trust for employees. L&T Trust holding is to ring-fence the company against hostile bids. I want the company to constantly create value and grow stronger. My effort is to increase value in market cap so it doesn't become a soft target. Companies with large market caps are difficult to acquire.

On wealth creation for shareholders

In last 15 years, we have restructured L&T and in fact, restructuring is an ongoing process. We have sold off lot of small companies. We want to further simplify the structure. At present, Project Bluechip is still underway.

On listing of new entities

We will list L&T Infotech & L&T Technology Systems by 2016. In three years, we wish to list L&T hydrocarbons division as well. At some point, with conducive environment, we want to list our power equipment and transmission business also.

n the first year of Modi government

At vision, strategy and planning levels, the Modi government is very good. It has also changed the environment in defence sector. In fact, in defence, India lags by almost 20 years. The Make In India campaign also has got a lot of potential. It's a good tool to generate employment. Thousands of small firms have shut down. Make In India has to address their concerns. On the other hand, Indian industry still needs protection. China subsidises their export industry a lot. India also needs to protect export units and we have to promote our exports. China's infrastructure is far superior. Their goods are delivered much faster as compared to India. It needs a drastic change.

On land acquisition bill

I have a simple view on the bill. Any public utility project should get land on priority. But the poor needs to benefit from land acquisition. A lot of capital intensive industries need large land. But they don't create enough employment. We need to give land to businesses that generate employment. It needs to be done responsibly.

On tax terrorism

No company should be allowed to evade taxes. But you can't come and start collecting taxes that are retrospective and may be due for 25 years. You should have been alert at that time to collect those taxes. We also need to reduce the number of taxes we currently have. The system has to be transparent. We don't need to make it tax haven, but India needs to be a tax-friendly country.

On missed opportunity for Modi government

There was a lot of hype about Modi government. People had a lot of expectations. To that extent, what is done so far is less than what was possible. The government has taken a lot of policy initiatives, while a lot of planning is also taking place. At the same time, a lot of things are pending at the strategy and planning level. Implementation needs a lot of improvement. What is also required is better monitoring of projects.