Leonardo, here’s how Draghi moves in India
How relations between Italy and India will change for Leonardo. The role of Draghi, according to the Indian press
India reopens to Leonardo.
According to Indian press sources, New Delhi has lifted the ban on the defense and aerospace group led by Alessandro Profumo. Since 2014, the former Finmeccanica group was expelled from the country due to the court case involving Leonardo's subsidiary, Agusta Westland.
The leaders had been accused of international corruption for alleged bribes paid in India regarding the supply of 12 AW 101 VIP / VVIP helicopters to the Indian government for a total value of approximately 560 million dollars.
The decision follows the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Prime Minister Mario Dragh I, on the occasion of the G20 in Rome, The Hindu sources confirm. The lifting of the ban would lead to a "relaunch" of the ties between the two countries, underlines the Indian daily.
A decision, however, subject to certain conditions, including the impossibility for the company to file a civil suit against the Indian government for previous operations.
The Leonardo stock outperforms the market today with an increase of 1.38% to 6.61 euros (maximum intraday at 6.654 euros) ”reports MF . “The news from India is positive, but we have not yet changed our estimates on the group”, underlines Banca Akros.
All the details.
THE DECISION OF THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT
"The Indian government has decided to lift the ban on Leonardo, the Italian company involved in the alleged corruption affair for the sale of Agusta Westland helicopters" revealed The Hindu, citing information from anonymous sources of the Delhi government.
THE MEETING BETWEEN MODES AND DRAGONS
"The decision would be a consequence of the meeting held on October 19 at Palazzo Chigi, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, between the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and the Indian Prime Minister Modi, accompanied for the occasion by the Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and the councilor for safety Ajit Doval ”highlights Il Messaggero today.
According to the Indian channel Times Now , the Indian Ministry of Justice was already examining the dossier. Foreign Minister Harshvardhan Shringla said discussions are underway between Italy and India.
WHAT THE ITALIAN AMBASSADOR REPORTED
Interviewed by Ansa, the ambassador of Italy to India Vincenzo de Luca defined the decision as "desirable" despite not having official confirmation, underlines the Messenger.
"However, it is a signal of the relaunch of the partnership of the two countries, based on reinforced multilateralism, cooperation against the pandemic, energy transition and defense ties", commented Ambassador de Luca to The Indu .
In an interview with The Hindu, de Luca reiterated that all the "outstanding issues" between New Delhi and Rome were "resolved". The reference, in addition to the court case of Agusta Westland, is also to the story of the Italian marines in India. Therefore, the two countries will step up work on the “action plan” that was agreed during the virtual India-Italy summit in November 2020 between Modi and the then Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
THE CASE THAT INVOLVED AGUSTAWESTLAND
As we said, the Indian ban is the consequence of the court case involving Leonardo's subsidiary, Agusta Westland. The leaders had been accused of international corruption for alleged bribes paid in India regarding the supply of 12 AW 101 VIP / VVIP helicopters to the Indian government for a total value of approximately 560 million dollars.
"In the meantime, Leonardo has lost potentially billion-dollar opportunities in the country," MF emphasized .
Last week Times Now reported that an argument to lift the ban is that Leonardo, which is owned by the Italian state, has undergone a restructuring and is very different from Augusta Westland, which was a subsidiary. "Secondly, it is suggested that the ban, if any, continue on the helicopter division and not on the rest of the company, one of the largest in the world," adds Times Now . As one senior official said: "One option is to continue with the ban on the helicopter division, but not on the other sections."
THE CONDITIONS OF NEW DELHI
It therefore seems that after the conversation with Draghi at the end of October, the Modi government has decided to lift the blockade against Leonardo.
"According to a senior official of the Delhi government, India would however have set conditions for the revocation, including that of leaving the ban on helicopters of the company now led by Alessandro Profumo, reopening the acquisition of arms in other sectors". the Messenger .
WHAT INDIA WOULD LIKE FROM LEONARDO
According to the Indian press, the Indian military will benefit from lifting the ban, either partially or totally, not only by acquiring much-needed weapons like the Black Shark torpedoes, made by WASS, now owned by Leonardo, but by keeping Pakistan out of the picture. The Black Shark torpedo, made by Wass di Leonardo, would be perfect for the Indian Navy's Scorpene submarines.
“Aside from much-needed new weapons, even a partial lifting of the ban will help get parts for weapon systems and other equipment. Since Leonardo produces missiles, naval guns, unmanned underwater vehicles and other weapons, ”stresses Times Now .
THE COMMENT OF BANCA AKROS
"The news from India is positive, but we have not yet changed our estimates on the group" commented Banca Akros this morning, taken up by MF . “We want to make better use of the data disseminated on the Aerostructures business . For the moment, we confirm our position on the stock: buy and target price at € 9.25 as we do not see much downside from these levels ", underlines the institute after Leonardo's presentation of the accounts for the third quarter of 2021 focused on relaunch / resumption of the Aerostructures division.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/leonardo-ecco-come-draghi-si-muove-in-india/ on Mon, 08 Nov 2021 12:06:56 +0000.