Ahead of the Budget D-Day, here’s a quick media round-up of what corporate honchos across verticals and spheres and global financial market bigwigs had to say on the macro and micro aspects of economy, industry and bourses.
Shankar Sharma, Joint MD, First Global Group feels optimistic about the prospects of consumer goods sector in the light of resilient corporate performance, falling inflation, rising tech-driven employment numbers and better pay packets which collectively stand to culminate in better sales of cars, household products and other durables. This growth, he contends, would be driven by better volumes in the coming quarters. He doesn’t foresee any remarkable momentum for banks from lower interest rates but is more positive about the PSU players within the given space.
Stephen Schwartzman, Co-founder, Blackstone believes India is re-emerging as a fruitful investment destination under the pro-business initiatives of the new government. He’s upbeat about real estate, power, infra and consumer durables. He also feels the hotel sector is still besieged with numerous approvals that adversely affect its ease-of-doing business ratings.
James McCormack, Global Head – Sovereign Ratings, Fitch expects Dollar-Euro parity by year-end while anticipating US GDP around 3 per cent. He contends India won’t be impacted by US Fed rate hikes given its relatively low dependence on global capital markets. He also feels oil prices have touched bottom-levels and won’t fall further but does not completely rule out the possibility of an abrupt downhill slide in the short term. He confirms a stable Fitch outlook on India subject to its demonstrated commitment to structural reforms and lowering of governmental debt. As for the budget, he would look at India’s fiscal deficit target and sustainable revenue positioning as key factors to decide on any rating upgrades.
Manish Agarwal, Partner & Leader – Capital Projects & Infrastructure, PWC India points out the glaring need to aggressively remove the land acquisition hurdles and the roadblock of other state-level and local-level clearances that have needlessly the EPC Model NHAI projects. This, he feels, will free up capital and enable contractors to take on fresh EPC projects. The PPP model in his reckoning will prove fruitful only if the financial distress of the banking sector from the pending project burden is resolved and low-risk based concession structures and long-term financing is made available on a larger scale.
Celebrated investor Jim Rogers feels India urgently needs to restore the confidence of foreign investors as nothing substantial has happened on the execution front in the nine months of the PM Modi government. The only bright spot, he observes, is the buoyancy of the stock markets but its longevity is dependent on India’s demonstrated efforts to break its overprotective shell. Rogers however is appreciative of the RBI monetary policy which he feels is line with the need of the hour. He attributes the fall in crude oil prices to political factors, is bullish on dollar upsurge and expects a better scenario for Gold within a year.
Hironori Kanayama, CEO, Honda Motors expects the budget to offer growth incentives to the auto sector. He feels the Indian market is likely to open its doors to premium cars like China did once the economy picks greater momentum. The company plans to expand its 150-city dealer network to 230 from the current 217. The proposed Gujarat plant would gain traction; he made clear, solely depending on desirable production capacity and sales estimates.
Tapan Kumar Das, CEO and co-founder, iTiffin.in wants the government to reduce healthcare costs to better address the health concerns emanating from lifestyle irregularities. He suggested the inclusion of nutrition services and health food under Health Services to qualify as a service within the Service Tax fold. He feels Food Technology should be exempt from import duty, more tax benefits should be extended to Nutrition and Health Food services and Nutrition & Diet Plan should be covered under Mediclaim policies.
Suresh Sharma, Founder & Director, iSpyPrice.com sees the GST as a silver bullet to solve many tax issues. He wants the service tax on online advertisements abolished to help internet publishing companies generate credible and valuable content. He seeks more clarification on the service tax applicability for advertisement income and asks for the abolition of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) for the e-commerce sector.
Swaminathan Vedaranyam, CEO, VIA.com asks for a clear, concise and well-defined policy for the travel industry. He highlights the need for developing tourist hotspots appealing to both domestic and foreign travelers. He sees the revival of tier II and II cities airports and rationalization of air travel taxes critical to travel and tourism growth.
Shankar Sharma, Joint MD, First Global Group feels optimistic about the prospects of consumer goods sector in the light of resilient corporate performance, falling inflation, rising tech-driven employment numbers and better pay packets which collectively stand to culminate in better sales of cars, household products and other durables. This growth, he contends, would be driven by better volumes in the coming quarters. He doesn’t foresee any remarkable momentum for banks from lower interest rates but is more positive about the PSU players within the given space.
Stephen Schwartzman, Co-founder, Blackstone believes India is re-emerging as a fruitful investment destination under the pro-business initiatives of the new government. He’s upbeat about real estate, power, infra and consumer durables. He also feels the hotel sector is still besieged with numerous approvals that adversely affect its ease-of-doing business ratings.
James McCormack, Global Head – Sovereign Ratings, Fitch expects Dollar-Euro parity by year-end while anticipating US GDP around 3 per cent. He contends India won’t be impacted by US Fed rate hikes given its relatively low dependence on global capital markets. He also feels oil prices have touched bottom-levels and won’t fall further but does not completely rule out the possibility of an abrupt downhill slide in the short term. He confirms a stable Fitch outlook on India subject to its demonstrated commitment to structural reforms and lowering of governmental debt. As for the budget, he would look at India’s fiscal deficit target and sustainable revenue positioning as key factors to decide on any rating upgrades.
Manish Agarwal, Partner & Leader – Capital Projects & Infrastructure, PWC India points out the glaring need to aggressively remove the land acquisition hurdles and the roadblock of other state-level and local-level clearances that have needlessly the EPC Model NHAI projects. This, he feels, will free up capital and enable contractors to take on fresh EPC projects. The PPP model in his reckoning will prove fruitful only if the financial distress of the banking sector from the pending project burden is resolved and low-risk based concession structures and long-term financing is made available on a larger scale.
Celebrated investor Jim Rogers feels India urgently needs to restore the confidence of foreign investors as nothing substantial has happened on the execution front in the nine months of the PM Modi government. The only bright spot, he observes, is the buoyancy of the stock markets but its longevity is dependent on India’s demonstrated efforts to break its overprotective shell. Rogers however is appreciative of the RBI monetary policy which he feels is line with the need of the hour. He attributes the fall in crude oil prices to political factors, is bullish on dollar upsurge and expects a better scenario for Gold within a year.
Hironori Kanayama, CEO, Honda Motors expects the budget to offer growth incentives to the auto sector. He feels the Indian market is likely to open its doors to premium cars like China did once the economy picks greater momentum. The company plans to expand its 150-city dealer network to 230 from the current 217. The proposed Gujarat plant would gain traction; he made clear, solely depending on desirable production capacity and sales estimates.
Tapan Kumar Das, CEO and co-founder, iTiffin.in wants the government to reduce healthcare costs to better address the health concerns emanating from lifestyle irregularities. He suggested the inclusion of nutrition services and health food under Health Services to qualify as a service within the Service Tax fold. He feels Food Technology should be exempt from import duty, more tax benefits should be extended to Nutrition and Health Food services and Nutrition & Diet Plan should be covered under Mediclaim policies.
Suresh Sharma, Founder & Director, iSpyPrice.com sees the GST as a silver bullet to solve many tax issues. He wants the service tax on online advertisements abolished to help internet publishing companies generate credible and valuable content. He seeks more clarification on the service tax applicability for advertisement income and asks for the abolition of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) for the e-commerce sector.
Swaminathan Vedaranyam, CEO, VIA.com asks for a clear, concise and well-defined policy for the travel industry. He highlights the need for developing tourist hotspots appealing to both domestic and foreign travelers. He sees the revival of tier II and II cities airports and rationalization of air travel taxes critical to travel and tourism growth.
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