A Bharti Walmart wholesale store in Zirakpur, India. With a huge population, there will be a massive marketplace for decades to come.
A Bharti Walmart wholesale store in Zirakpur, India. With a huge population, there will be a massive marketplace for decades to come.

India's opportunities for shrewd investors



With uncertainty dominating the news, many investors are probably wondering what they should do next.

India Dispatch Inside the emerging giant

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With the benefit of hindsight, the answer to that question is usually "invest". We all tell ourselves that we want to buy low and sell high, but in practice, few of us have been able to do so. It is all too easy to wait until there is not a dark cloud in the sky and shares have recovered to comforting new highs, but by then it is often too late. It is interesting to see that household name investors such as Warren Buffett are buying equities at prices that he has described as "on sale".

Indian equities have performed poorly this year as investors have become risk-averse. This is hardly a new phenomenon. During the past decade, there have been four occasions when the Indian stock market has fallen by more than 20 per cent. As scary as these occasions must have felt at the time, brave investors were handsomely rewarded, with the average return over the next two years being an astonishing 120 per cent.

Few would doubt that India has some powerful advantages. I would describe investing in such vibrant economies as "riding the up escalator". I believe that this metaphor contrasts with the difficulties that will be faced in the West, where companies are going to be "running up the down escalator" for many years to come.

There will be companies that prosper in the West just as there will be those that fail in India, despite the obvious advantages surrounding them. However, on balance, we would rather invest in companies that are being carried along by strong growth trends rather than have to fight against headwinds.

India's growth rate has actually been accelerating over the past half century. India's economy has grown at 4 to 5 per cent for decades, and growth has regularly topped 8 per cent over the past decade. So strong has growth been that India has suffered a dose of inflation. The Reserve Bank of India should be praised for moving swiftly to contain this with 11 rate increases in quick succession that now appear to be cooling the economy.

Stock market historians will know that the end of the rate cycle is often a great time for investors to begin accumulating shares.

There are compelling reasons to believe that the gap between India and the rest of the world will continue to expand exponentially. At the most basic level, economic growth can come either from an expanding population producing and consuming more goods or from a static population consuming ever more goods (or a bit of both). The West has collectively decided to borrow vast sums in the past to allow its populations to consume at the expense of consuming in the future.

In India, the situation is completely different. India has a population of more than 1 billion people already, most of whom have a long list of things that they don't yet own. This provides Indian companies with a massive marketplace for decades to come. Maruti Suzukiwas selling 120,000 cars per year in 2004. Today it is selling more than this every month and still has huge order backlogs.

The population is growing by about 10 million each year. The average age of India's population is just 25, with decades of consuming and saving ahead. If a company can simply keep pace with such population growth, this will give it more than enough growth opportunities without needing to expand market share or innovate.

All of this is helped by the fact that India carries much lower debt levels than the West, and therefore more money can be driven into consumption and investment rather than debt repayment. Infrastructure stocks such as Larsen & Toubro have already benefited from 200-fold growth in their value, but there is every reason to believe that there is more to come.

Accessing this growth has historically been difficult for many investors based in the UAE. It is practically impossible for foreigners to buy Indian shares directly. Even for non-resident Indians, buying shares directly will be burdensome. You will have to set up brokerage accounts, research companies that you wish to buy, then follow the news flow from your chosen companies to identify the right time to sell. Most investors eventually come to the view that they should hand over the day-to-day responsibility to a professional fund manager.

Another compelling reason to invest in the Indian market is the weakness of its currency. The worsening global outlook has reduced foreign institutional investment in India, thereby the supply of US dollars in the country. This, along with other reasons such as a rising current-account deficit and inflation led to a fall in the rupee's value to its lowest level since May 2009. In my opinion, interest rates and growth differentials, the Reserve Bank of India's efforts to control inflation and an increase in foreign institutional investment inflow will result in appreciation of the rupee over time.

Alan Durrant is the group chief investment officer and general manager of the asset management group at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. The views expressed are his own and not those of the bank

Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid 

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Getting there

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.

The stay

Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Champions parade (UAE timings)

7pm Gates open

8pm Deansgate stage showing starts

9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral

9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street

10pm City players on stage

11pm event ends

Match info:

Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')

Morocco 0

Ticket prices
  • Golden circle - Dh995
  • Floor Standing - Dh495
  • Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
  • Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
  • Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
  • Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
  • Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
  • Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
What is tokenisation?

Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

'Dark Waters'

Directed by: Todd Haynes

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper 

Rating: ****

Business Insights
  • As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses. 
  • SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income. 
  • Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.

North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Company profile

Date started: January, 2014

Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe

Based: Dubai

Sector: Education technology

Size: Five employees

Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.

Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)

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Company%20Profile
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Essentials

The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.

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Top 10 most polluted cities
  1. Bhiwadi, India
  2. Ghaziabad, India
  3. Hotan, China
  4. Delhi, India
  5. Jaunpur, India
  6. Faisalabad, Pakistan
  7. Noida, India
  8. Bahawalpur, Pakistan
  9. Peshawar, Pakistan
  10. Bagpat, India
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Business Insights
  • Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
  • The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
  • US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm

Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Price: from Dh155,000

On sale: now

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

THE BIO

Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.

Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.

Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.

Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.

 

 

Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

World Cup warm up matches

May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff

May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval

May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff

May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval

May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff

Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press

About Proto21

Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group