To: Mohan Marette who wrote (791 ) 2/20/2000 9:01:00 PM From: Mohan Marette Respond to
Network Solutions to set up 100% subsidiary to cash in on Net mania(The number of dotcom companies being set up in India has shot up dramatically after the internet service provider sector was opened up in late 1998. Network Solutions Inc (NSI), the world's largest domain registration company, has seen over 100 per cent growth from the country in 1999. In an interview with N SHIVAPRIYA, NSI managing director (Asia Pacific), Arthur Chang, spoke about the dotcom revolution and how India is moving online.) The number of registrations from India has gone up from 23,000 in 1998 to 84,000 in 1999. Two years back it was not even on our radar screen. The potential for growth is huge because India has a large population. I can't say whether India will be second or third in future but certainly in the next three to five years it will be among the top five. Registrations from India are higher than Japan , the second largest economy in the world. Japan has a large number of internet users but the .jp is very strong.We are considering different options we might set up a wholly owned subsidiary or have a joint venture . The decision will be taken quickly but it might take some time to materialise. I understand there is a lot of bureaucracy and procedure if you want to set up a wholly owned subsidiary. Id we opt for a joint venture, obviously we need to talk to the potential target in more detail. We are flexible about holding majority or minority stake. We have made five investments in the States so far: two companies we have acquired and in the other three we have minority stake.There is a lot of potential here. But we cannot say when or how much we will invest . All the regions are competing with each other and we will invest wherever there is opportunity it could be in the Asia-Pacific region,Europe or United States. The internet is not a photocopying business it is changing everyday, it is a dynamic and free industry. We can't limit ourselves with a rigid framework in this industry.We have allocated some money just for identifying strategic investments but I can't reveal specifics . We look at two things before making an investment: return to shareholder and value-addition to our core business. We don't want to rule out anything including investments in portals . A domain name registration is just the first point of experience in the value-chain.......indian-express.com
