No. 36: Larsen & Toubro

Current BW Magazine Table of Contents

October 24, 2005 BW Magazine Table of Contents

October 24, 2005 Asia BW 50 Table of Contents

Asia's BW50

2005 Rankings

1	PTT
2	PetroChina
3	Oil and Natural Gas
4	S-Oil
5	Tata Steel
6	POSCO
7	Shinhan Financial Group
8	LG Corp.
9	Samsung Electronics
10	MISC (Malaysia IntÕl. Shipping)
11	Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg.
12	Hon Hai Precision Industry
13	AU Optronics
14	Formosa Chemicals & Fibre
15	Mitsui OSK Lines
16	Reliance Industries
17	CNOOC
18	Tata Motors
19	Hyundai Mobis
20	Komatsu
21	LG Electronics
22	China Petroleum & Chemical
23	Philippine Long Distance Telephone
24	PT BUMI Resources
25	Shell Refining (Federation of Malaya)
26	Sumitomo Metal Industries
27	PT Astra International
28	Thai Petrochemical Industry
29	Kobe Steel
30	Aluminum Corporation of China
31	High Tech Computer
32	Toyota Tsusho
33	Nippon Mining Holdings
34	Formosa Plastics
35	Jilin Chemical Industrial
36	Larsen & Toubro
37	China Steel
38	Esprit Holdings
39	Infosys Technologies
40	LG.Philips LCD
41	China Mobile (Hong Kong)
42	Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical
43	ICICI Bank
44	Siam Cement Group
45	Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical
46	Matsui Securities
47	Yamada-Denki
48	Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
49	Orix
50	Nippon Steel

Data: Standard & Poor's Compustat

OCTOBER 24, 2005

STORY TOOLS

DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/
AFP/GETTY IMAGES

India has finally gotten serious about refurbishing its dilapidated infrastructure -- the roads, bridges, electrical grids, and water systems that will help it mature into a modern economy. No company was happier with that decision than Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (BOM ), India's largest engineering and construction conglomerate. L&T, as it is known, has seen revenues grow 35% in 2004-05, and profits climb 85%. Investors call it the best proxy for India's investment boom: In the last 12 months, its stock price is up 82%.

The force behind L&T is its hard-driving CEO, Anil Manibhai Naik. A lifer since 1965, Naik rose from the ranks to become CEO. (L&T was founded in 1938 in Bombay by two Danes.) Despite L&T's success, Naik is not satisfied. On a recent trip to China he found the pace of development ``mind-boggling'' and India far behind. ``All developing countries have built their economies on the back of a strong infrastructure and manufacturing base,'' he says. ``Without that, we can't progress.''

He's not waiting. Naik has a five-year plan for L&T that includes aggressive expansion abroad. Last year, L&T set up sales offices in China. It will soon bid for projects there. It already has large construction and design centers in the United Arab Emirates.

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