Tom Young
IFLR Asia reporter
India is on the brink of opening its doors to foreign firms. After 11 years of economic growth and lawyers conducting deals out of hotel rooms, the country's Ministry of Finance has finally responded to the pleas of banks and corporates and is now behind deregulation. But while change is inevitable, it won't be easy. Both international and local firms have a lot at stake in India, and the path to foreign entry is proving harder than expected.
In January, the UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (Jetco) legal team visited India for talks about the liberalization of the country's legal services market with its Indian counterpart. The breakthrough in the trip came when the Bar Council of India, previously opposed to deregulation, joined the Jetco legal team for talks. During the trip the Law Society also signed a memorandum of understanding with other associations the...