Profile on India: India’s economy is the twelfth largest in the world in terms of GDP measured in US dollars, with a solid $1.10 trillion in GDP for 2007.  It has been considered the second-fastest-growing economy in the world, after the country posted a 9.2% GDP growth rate from 2006 to 2007.   Despite its rapid growth, its Bombay Sensex index has not faired very well in our World Markets Challenge (see current leaders here).   Here are some key stats on India's economy and markets.

More on India's Economy:

• India’s largest exports in 2007 included engineering goods, accounting for $16.4 billion, followed by gems and jewelry at $13.7 billion, and textiles at $12.6 billion, according to The Economist data
• India’s top export destinations in 2007 included the United States, comprising 19.8% of total exports, followed by China at 8.3%, and the United Arab Emirates at 8.0%
• According to a report by Forbes magazine, India charges foreign companies the second-highest rate of corporate taxes in the world, a rate of up to 42%
• The Reserve Bank of India increased its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 9% in July 29, 2008
• The Indian rupee has depreciated about 10% year-to-date versus the US dollar, trading at 43.390 rupees per dollar

Markets:
The Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in Asia tracing its roots back to 1875.  The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index (Sensex) is India’s first stock market index, tracking 30 stocks representative of 12 major sectors using a free-float methodology. 

• The Sensex 30 reached a record-intraday high of 21,206.77 on January 10, 2008
• It is up by 13.3% from its record-low closing price of 12,575.80, set on July 16.
• From 12/06 to 12/07, the Sensex 30 was up 47.15%
• So far this year, the Sensex 30 closed in negative territory 85 times of the total trading sessions, or 53.46% of the time
• The Bombay Sensex 30 is down 29.8% year-to-date.

Some of the Indian ADRs traded in the US include: 

Check in daily for more updates and country profiles.  bythenumbers.cnbc.com

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