INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
World big names and top business chiefs are rubbing shoulders with each other in Davos to deliver their takes on global economy as growth
The event comes a time when risks from a bruising US-China trade war and Brexit are compounding worries
So, where does that leave Indian economy and market with
To be sure, India remains a bright star
The International Monetary Fund in its January World Economy Outlook update in this Swiss Alpine resort projected India to grow at 7.5 per
ETMarkets.com has pieced together bytes at World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to get a sense of how Indian economy and equities are
looking from an investment point of view -- and hits and misses of Modi government.
Martin Gilbert, co-CEO of Standard Life AberdeenOn
market valuation: Valuations of Indian equity markets look more attractive than they were
We had been worried for some time about valuations
Now, good thing is that they are down to much more realistic levels where we can invest in
2019 is going to be an interesting year in India ahead of elections, but I think companies will continue to do very well
We are very hopeful on India.
Investment strategy: For investment, we first ask, will management team look after our interest as a minority
shareholder and if they do not take that box, we do not really go on to any of boxes
Then, we just look for conservative balancesheets, no big gearing, good cash flow and good strategy, among others
(Read full interview here)K V Kamath, Chairman, New Development BankOur growth, their growth: Global growth is under pressure
We would not go into that for a variety of reasons and I would go with people who are not so optimistic though I do not want to use word
India clearly is on a roll
The equation is very simple
It is a large population which is on move and base is built up quite nicely and on that base, all you have to do is to look at what is not
yet done and count that and invest for that
Our country will grow for a very long time.
Fiscal slippages: Indian governments are wary of any fiscal slippage
I would not take a call that there will be a fiscal slippage this time around as well
(Read full interview here)
C P Gurnani, CEO and MD, Tech MahindraTechnology stocks and rupee: I do not think rupee was only reason of
outperformance of technology stocks in 2018
When I said, at Tech Mahindra, 45-46 per cent business comes from US, I had other currencies to battle
Every currency had its own equation with US currencies
Trend in IT: I do not think that there is a perfect trend anywhere
The reason I am using word perfect trend is that a lot is dependent on how US ultimately comes out of current crisis of government shutdown
because US accounts for almost 60 per cent of Indian IT spend, for us it is 46-47 per cent
I would not call it a crisis but I would definitely say it is an uncertainty and I do not think there is a very big clarity on that subject
Similarly, whole Brexit issue is clearly making people a little indecisive for moment
(Read full interview here)Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW GroupIndia and global uncertainty: India is part of world and cannot be isolated
It does impact India, but India as a country has a huge domestic market and most of industries in India are based on domestic demand except
for IT industry, which is very global in nature
I am sure that with these trade wars, industry will get affected in times to come but as we speak, it is okay.
Hits and misses of Modi
news were coming out of India
In last five years, we have not seen any real big bad news
That, I would say is a big positive because India is a big country and to have no scams in India is a big deal
(Read full interview here)Raghuram Rajan, Former governor, RBITake on IMF forecasts: Yes, it is good to see that growth continues at 7 per
cent plus pace, but what is worrisome of course is some of underpinnings of that growth
It is as you said, largely consumption-led growth, but that is not creating enough jobs
One can dispute jobs figures but there are lots of people vying for very few jobs and given that, going forward, we have to move towards a
more job-creating economy
All growth will go for nothing if it does not create good jobs
(Read full interview here)Gita Gopinath, Chief Economist, IMF On Modi rule: There are a few accomplishments of this government
Goods and services tax (GST), bankruptcy reforms and setting up of inflation targeting framework are very important ones
We have seen an improvement in ease of doing business
Those were all good measures that were taken by this government.
Major concerns: These are two sectors where we continue to need to do a
better job -- both on agricultural side and creating jobs
There cannot be quick fixes like loan waivers
The state-sponsored skilling programmes have not worked that well and maybe we need to have it done more with private sector in terms of
firms providing in-house training to workers
That would be a better alternative
On agricultural side, there is obviously a lot of distress on farmers and a more cash transfer based approach rather than farm loan waivers
or input subsidies would be better
(Read full interview here)
