Tuesday, November 14, 2006

India and China part deux

Similarities
Population: 1.3 b in China, 1.1 b in India (2005)
Occupation: 50%-60% of the population is engaged in agriculture ~30% live in urban areas
Political Stability: Very stable one-party system in China and stable democracy in India
Economic Stability: Ample foreign exchange reserves with little impact of high oil prices

Differences
GDP/capita: China’s GDP/capita at US$ 1700 is 2.2 times that of India
Infrastructure spending: 870,000 miles of highways, USD 25 b/year on roads in China-10% of this in India
Foreign Direct Investment: Very high-USD 61 b/year in China (2005) 10% of this in India
Technology penetration: PC, mobile phone and internet penetration all 3-4 times higher in China than India
Literacy: 95% total literacy in China and 68% in India

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

OK, your analysis is great but I think there are some flaws...I believe in measuring everything as a ratio because that put things on equal ground so in some instances for example I would really want to see what is the ratio of highways/area of China vs. India...not that India is doing great but still to give an understanding...

Your comment on China having a very stable single party system sounds so much like the response we had in the OB (In your backyard) when asked about the political system at China...

What we also need to see is that we have a socio-political system which will not allow us to demolish shanty towns and displace people to build highways by a central government decree...that differs highly from China...but that does not mean it is great to have this system where it takes years to get Dabhols and Narmada's to get going...however, on any day of the year, I would support this system over what is there in China...

Anonymous said...

It's not all bad for India:
1. Banking sector transparency - much better in India. No one has a clue on what the right number for the percentage of bad loans in the system is. And all these Chinese banks keep IPOing big time.
2. Corporate accounts a lot more transparent in India: Just a couple of months back a Chinese company which showed 1bn RMB of cash on its balance sheet went bankrupt because there was no cash. That was Asia's Parmalat! In India, the Essars and Jindals at least tell you well in advance that you are screwed!
3. Outside the big cities, China is shaite.
4. In China, if the government wants to bring my house down and build an olympic stadium, I can do nothing. In India I can, even if I lose.
-N