ENHANCING MARKET VALUE OF COMPANIES

May 6th, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

In corporate circles, there is always talk about creating “value.” Managements are forever striving to “add value” and to undertake “value enhancing” or “value accretive” activities. But ask a typical senior manager what this “value” is and you will not get a convincing answer ...ReadMore

SCARCE LIQUIDITY MEANS RISK-AVERSE FIIS

Apr 22nd, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

Last fortnight, I wrote about the uncertainty in the commodity cycle going forward. On the macro-economic side, the picture has just become more complicated, with the release on Wednesday of US inflation n ...ReadMore

SUPER CYCLE OR SUPER CORRECTION?

Apr 8th, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

We live in an uncertain world. This has been more than amply proven by developments in the commodities world over the last two years. Prices of most commodities have gone up by far more than anybody anticipated, or could have anticipated. The best example is oil where prices over $50 a barrel a ...ReadMore

DEMOGRAPHICS WILL POWER OUR GROWTH

Mar 25th, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

Every fortnight when I write this column, it is hard not to be torn between optimism about the long-term prospects of our country, and despair about our inability to get our act together as a people. Madeleine Albright once said about Yasser Arafat, “he misses no opportunity to miss an opport ...ReadMore

A DELIBERATELY NON-DRAMATIC BUDGET

Mar 11th, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

This close to the Budget, it is hard to resist putting down one’s views on it. Great things were expected of this ‘dream team.’ The media, as is their wont, duly hyped the Budget, and expectations were sky high. Against this measure of public expectation, did the Budget disappoint? I ...ReadMore

FOCUS ON GROWTH AND SECTORAL REFORMS

Feb 25th, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

The Budget is always an important time in the Indian economic calendar. It is hard to escape all the attention and hype that surrounds it. Housewives are solicited for their opinions, economists spout wisd ...ReadMore

ENCOURAGE INDIANS TO SAVE MORE

Feb 11th, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

The India investment story is currently attracting significant interest from overseas investors. At a recent investor conference, over a third of the investors were first-timers, looking at allocating a part of their global pool of funds to India, while some of the old India hands had the “We� ...ReadMore

WE MUST REACT TO GLOBALISATION

Jan 28th, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

The curse of the columnist has finally struck! My fingers are frozen at the keyboard with nary a worthwhile topic in my head. As I cast my mind around at the fortnight’s happenings, nothing dramatic jump ...ReadMore

CAPITAL IDEAS ON FINANCING GROWTH

Jan 14th, 2005;  Source: The Financial Express

Recently, we did a study on the likely financing needs of the Indian economy as a whole, and for the industrial sector. We worked backwards from an assumed target growth rate of 8% for the economy as a who ...ReadMore

LOOKING BACK AT THE YEAR THAT WAS

Dec 31st, 2004;  Source: The Financial Express

It is fashionable for writers to review the year gone by in their end-of-year columns. I will make no exception to this principle and will attempt my own modest review of some of the important themes of th ...ReadMore