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Capital Markets Conference Held At ISB The Indian capital markets today present a vastly different picture from what they were a decade ago with a lot of checks and balances in place, ensuring transparency in dealing and protection of the interests of the investors. In this scenario, how do investment managers and players in the market evaluate investments given the greater sophistication and expertise of the market participants? What limitations still constrain India from crossing the threshold and becoming a mammoth global participant? The Finance Club of ISB tackled such absorbing issues at the Capital Markets Conference held at the Indian School of Business on the 30th of October 2004. Eminent names from the capital markets spanning regulators and investment managers graced the event with their presence and intellectual wisdom and to present their distinctive perspectives. The day was a host of panel discussions and interactive sessions that tackled specific topics such as the "Development of the Indian Capital Markets to smoothen the public offerings" and "Investment Scenario, Investment Philosophy and Stock Ideas". The day started with a panel discussion on the Development of the Indian Capital Markets to smoothen the public offerings moderated by Professor Susan Thomas of the Indian School of Business. The panel members were Mr. S. C. Das, Executive Director, SEBI, Mr. S. Ramesh, Executive Director, Investment Banking, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Mr. C. Parthasarthy, CMD, Karvy Consultants and Mr. Mahesh Chhabria, COO, Enam Securities. The robust performance of the Indian IPO market was cited as one of the greatest contributors to the high growth that has placed the Indian capital markets at a comparable level as that of any developed country. The panel agreed that the regulators had been the cornerstone of the rapid expansion that has taken place here. The panel agreed that the current macroeconomic factors were very conducive for foreign investment flowing into the country. The only risks in sight were the volatility associated with the monsoons and the performance of the markets and fluctuations in crude oil prices. The panel did not however, see any insurmountable barriers to achieving a 15% growth rate in the near future. The conference reconvened in the afternoon with another impressive panel consisting of Mr. Prashant Jain, CIO, HDFC Asset Management, Mr. Mihir Vora, Head, Equities, ABN Amro Asset Management, Mr. Chetan Parikh, Director, Capital Ideas, Mr. Bharat Shah, CEO & Managing Partner, Ask Raymond James Investment and Mr. Sanjiv Shah, Executive Director, Benchmark Asset Management Company. The discussion ranged around the rationale that go into making aggregated investment decisions for funds playing in today's Indian equity markets. Stressed upon was the fact that it was imperative to have a long-term horizon while evaluating investments. Value arbitrage seemed to be the most popular strategy, which involved identifying companies with high growth potential, which were undervalued by the markets. The panel laid more weight on understanding the industry and its forces while evaluating stocks rather than on theoretical models for stock picking. Kaushal Shah, a student member of the Finance Club said, "There's no looking back for the Indian Markets. There's only a way forward." Manish Jain, another student member said, "The insights provided by this conference will go a long way in giving us an understanding of how investment decisions are taken in the real world." Contributed by - |
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