The Hindu Business Line : Bill Ford is here; India is right at the top for him

IT was a busy day for Mr William Clay Ford Jr, better known as Bill Ford, the Chairman of the board and CEO of Ford Motor Company, on his first visit to India.

The 48-year-old Bill Ford started off his two-day whirlwind tour to the country with a meeting with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. He did not share much about the half an hour he spent with Dr Singh, and Ford officials just referred to it as a `hello-hello' meeting.

Next on the agenda was a press meet to unveil the Fiesta, Ford India's latest product offering.

Speaking to newspersons, Mr Ford dwelt on the company's commitment to India and made it clear that investments here would not be impacted by the financial troubles at its US operations. "We will continue to invest in emerging markets like India and China, to launch new products and boost sales; at the same time we seek to improve performance in North America and Europe.

"We have a cash chest of around $24 billion. We are profitable since the last three years and we will again be this year. We have no problem in our ability to invest," he said, but did not disclose the investment plans for India.

Focus on emerging markets: Mr Ford was emphatic that the company would focus more on emerging markets as mature markets such as North America and Europe were growing at 1-3 per cent a year, while in this part of the world the growth rate is in double digits. "As we accelerate our effort to meet the global challenges of our business, I have emphasised the importance of optimising our global footprint by investing in areas that are growing. India is right at the top of the list. The market is critical to our plans for building a Ford Motor Company for the 21st century."

The great-grandson of Henry Ford will be in Chennai tomorrow where he will meet the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, and visit Ford's facility close to Chennai. By evening he will be off to his next destination in another country.

Mr Ford joined the company in 1979 and was elected as company Director in 1988 and CEO in 1999. He is an avid environmentalist and was named chair of the Board's Environmental and Public Policy Committee in 1997.

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