Wealth in Focus

Jaguar Land Rover to invest in Saudi Arabia Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is looking at setting up a factory in Saudi Arabia to meet the growing demand for its brands in the Middle East. The company is close to signing a deal with the Saudi government to build an assembly factory in the east of the country. JLR plans to invest approximately $167 million in the new factory and the Saudi government is also expected to inject funds as it seeks to develop its auto industry. The plant will initially make a new version of its popular Land Rover Discovery and is expected to employ 4,000 to 5,000 individuals. It will begin by assembling cars from components made in Britain, and progress to taking more parts from Saudi companies. The new factory is expected to produce 100,000 cars per annum. JLR has been actively pursuing efforts to increase their global footprint and has signed deals to open factories in China and Brazil. This will be JLR′s third big foreign expansion after China and Brazil. Facebook to invest in WhatsApp Social media giant Facebook Inc will acquire mobile messaging company WhatsApp in what is considered to be the largest deal so far by the group. The deal is worth $19 billion, which includes $4 billion in cash, $12 billion worth of Facebook shares and remaining $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to WhatsApp's founders and employees that will vest over four years following the closing of the deal. WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum will join Facebook′s board and WhatsApp's core messaging product and Facebook's existing messenger app will continue to operate as standalone applications. The messaging volume of WhatsApp is approaching the entire global telecom SMS volume and the company is currently adding more than one million new registered users per day. The deal provides Facebook an entry to new users who stay away from mainstream social networks but prefer WhatsApp and rivals. Lodha Group eyes London again Mumbai's leading builders, the Lodha Group, have acquired a second iconic property in the heart of London within months. New Court on Carey Street was bought from the West End of London Property Unit Trust for an estimated £90 million and comes soon after the group's purchase of MacDonald House in central London for over £306 million last November. An application for the conversion of the latest property from commercial to residential is in process as Lodha plans to use it to create flats and luxury units. The group has set up a separate subsidiary to undertake and execute its proposed London projects and other plans in the UK. It had recently hired Tyler Goodwin, former managing director of JP Morgan, as its new UK business chief executive officer. The Lodha Group has zeroed in on Mumbai and London as its two key markets for the coming years. The above article was published in India Inc′s print edition of the India Investment Journal launched in April 2014 in conjunction with the Global Wealth Management Conclave 2014.