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The Year of the Rooster commenced on the Chinese Lunar New YearŐs Day, Feb 9th 2005. The Rooster is the 10th year in the 12-year Chinese Lunar Calendar. The other years when Rooster ruled the roost were 1993, 1981, 1969 and so on. The other animals representing successive years in the cycle are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, dog and pig. In Chinese tradition, the Rooster is admired as courageous and is said to have five virtues: intelligence, bravery, chivalry, trustworthiness and benevolence. Intelligence is symbolized by its cockscomb, chivalry by its claw, bravery by its fighting spirit and trustworthiness by its reliability to usher in the dawn. The Hen, which tends her brood and scratches the soil to unearth seeds and flush out insects, is the embodiment of benevolence.
Roosters are flamboyant, have the gift of the gab (renowned for their crowing) and have an aggressive and inquisitive nature. People born under this sign have an inventive and agile mind with a logical and pragmatic approach to things they do. Roosters have a reputation of being good with money. While the intent of this article is in no way to make astrological predictions, it is definitely interesting to note what Chinese soothsayers are saying about the Year of the Rooster. According to them, the Year of the Rooster is shaped by the forces of Fire, Gold and Earth. Fire will dominate the first half, which is good news for telecom, technology and utilities. In the second half, gold and earth will bring prosperity for finance and property, mergers and takeovers.
Closer to home, one issue that will largely determine the future of telecom and consequently how the respective shares of the various telecom firms shape up in 2005 is FDI participation. Recently, the government raised the FDI in telecom from 49% to 74%, in spite of stiff resistance from left parties and those in charge of national security. This has renewed the interest of many in a sector which is growing rapidly and will need urgent investments. It will also remove the convoluted financing structure that many companies have had and will allow free flow of funds. Not only will it help cash hungry companies to raise funds, it will also make their exit from this sector easy, if they so desire.
However, for successful investments in this sector, a few clarifications around issues of structure, security requirements and most importantly, revenue share, have to be defined quickly and without ambiguity. Also, the licensor and regulator will have to be seen as a neutral player interested in promoting what is best for the industry, and not saviors of erstwhile incumbents. Only then will there be robust investments, successful IPOs and healthy mergers and acquisitions, giving the Rooster lots to crow about!.
Rahul Swarup
President
Sify Enterprise Solution
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