Business News in Brief: Carlsberg taking strides in India

In other news, Maersk has its sights set on a Northeast Passage trade route

Aug 24, 2018

India might not be the most obvious beer market in the world, but Carlsberg is taking great strides in the country, with its sights firmly set on its growing middle-class population.

With 1,100 employees and eight breweries, Tuborg has already established itself as a strong brand among young people, and in 2011, Carlsberg even launched an Indian version of its iconic elephant.

Great potential
“The Indian market is extremely promising. Beer consumption is low, but as is the case with other consumer goods, a rapidly growing economy means that there is great potential for increased sales in coming years,” explained Nilesh Patel, the managing director of Carlsberg India, to DI Business.

Carlsberg’s current market share in India is 17 percent.

Figure owed to SKAT increases again
Danish citizens and companies operating in the public sector now owe 111.8 billion kroner to the SKAT tax authority – a figure that suggests there has been an increase of more than 10 percent over the last year. In 2017, a PwC report suggested the Danish state would probably have to write off around 80 of the 100 billion kroner that it was owed. As well as unpaid income tax, the overall figure includes police fines, student debt, DR licensing fees, vehicle taxes, VAT and overpaid housing support. The government, meanwhile, has launched a new tax administration, which came into force on July 1 and consists of seven separate authorities, overseeing areas such as tax debt, customs and property evaluation.

Meet the top 25 companies on the ‘Badass Startup Scene’
Valuer has compiled a list of the top 25 companies on ‘Denmark’s Badass Startup Scene’, and the top ranked company is Tradeshift, a company founded in 2009 that uses cloud-based technology to facilitate financial tasks – most particularly interactions between customers and retailers. Completing the top five were Vivino, BlackWood Seven, Pleo and Gaest.com, while three companies recently profiled by CPH POST – Tattoodo (10), Artland (13) and Labster (25) – also made the top 25, as did Valuer itself at number 14. Emphasising that Denmark clearly punches above its weight, Valuer cited Denmark’s ranking as number 8 on Bloomberg’s recently released 2018 Innovation Index, predicting that Copenhagen might soon overtake Stockholm as the innovative business leader in the Nordics.

Maersk Line to trial new trail through the Northeast Passage
As global warming has continued to accelerate, it has been suggested more than once that shipping routes could be plotted through the Arctic during the summer – a double-edged sword environmentally as while the shippers will reduce their fuel expenditure, they could harm the icy environment. Now Maersk Line has confirmed it intends to send the 3,600-container Venta Maersk along the Northeast Passage from the eastern Russian port of Vladivostok to the western port of St Petersburg – thus reducing the normal journey time by 40 percent. The company told DR it is for now a “one-time attempt”, but that it will be gathering experience and data with a view to doing it again. The Venta Maersk is an ‘ice class’ vessel and its journey will be made in co-operation with the Russian authorities and with the assistance of icebreakers.

Danish companies nervously awaiting September 5
Danish companies have September 5 pencilled into their diaries as a possible Doomsday. The US Department of Commerce is expected to confirm whether it will impose further penalties on goods originating from China to the tune of 200 billion dollars a year in the escalating trade war with China – bad news for the Danish companies that produce their goods in China.