India

Hostile Indian IT bid does not compute

26 March 2019

Larsen & Toubro’s $2 bln tilt offers a measly premium for outsourcer Mindtree. The buyer’s vow to keep the outfit separate to its existing IT businesses seems odd, and deprives the target of a higher-performing parent. A sweeter price and a clearer plan could seal a better deal.

Etihad is strapped in too tightly at Jet Airways

19 March 2019

The ailing $400 mln Indian carrier has stopped flights to Abu Dhabi, the hub of its 24 pct shareholder. Even with some planes grounded, Jet may be trying to strong-arm support for a restructuring. It’s a harsh reminder that Etihad has more to lose than just its equity investment.

Hype trumps reality in Ambani’s shopping empire

12 March 2019

Reliance Retail is India’s top brick-and-mortar vendor, a fast-growing conglomerate within the tycoon’s $118 bln energy-to-mobile giant. Now it is emerging as the top threat to Amazon and Walmart’s local ambitions. Its numbers, though, are a mixed bag.

India Insight: Money power is choking democracy

4 March 2019

From free flat-screen TVs to biryani parties and paid news, cash distorts the workings of the world’s largest democracy, otherwise a marvel of staggering complexity. As a home-grown oligarchy takes hold, India needs a leader who can make good politics out of electoral reform.

Spotify turns India’s music scene into mosh pit

28 February 2019

The $26 bln streaming service will find its newest market loud and unruly. Indians spend more time listening to songs than most, but they pirate more too, making subscriptions a challenge. Spotify will also collide with everyone from Apple to Tencent to Mukesh Ambani’s app.

Investors give India-Pakistan peace a chance

28 February 2019

A rare air skirmish between the two nuclear-armed nations has left an Indian pilot captive. Relations have been worse in the past and war averted. Modest movements in stocks and bond yields suggest limited, if any, escalation is expected. Indeed, both sides have too much to lose.

Uber’s Indian takeout will feed future rivals

25 February 2019

The ride-hailing giant may swap its local food delivery business for a stake in $3.3 bln rival Swiggy. Checking out of Uber Eats's fastest-growing market will cut losses ahead of a global IPO. It would also prioritise short-term gain over efforts to keep new competitors at bay.

Kashmir attack exposes the limits of India’s clout

20 February 2019

New Delhi has vowed to secure the “complete isolation” of Pakistan after one of the deadliest assaults in years. Yet Islamabad’s strategic value to Beijing and Riyadh makes that unrealistic, leaving Premier Narendra Modi with few options to show strength ahead of an election.

Didi offers India’s hotel startup a lift in China

15 February 2019

No-frills chain Oyo is growing fast in a country where few foreign tech firms have thrived. An investment from local ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing will help smooth the way for the $5 bln group. In return, the buyer gets a valuable ally in its duel with rival superapp Meituan.

Uber steers around its Asian innovation conundrum

13 February 2019

After exits from China and Southeast Asia, the ride-hailing giant's eastern footprint hinges on India and promising spots, like Taiwan. Emerging market problems force a rapid pace of change. Safety buttons and a "lite" app are encouraging, but local rivals are moving faster.

India’s tech rules are taking on a Chinese quality

11 February 2019

New Delhi's plan to compel the likes of Facebook and Google to police their content threatens free speech. Coming after edicts that limit foreign e-commerce giants, there is a touch of the People's Republic that will worry global players relying on the subcontinent for growth.

Viewsroom: U.S. water crisis may evaporate wealth

7 February 2019

Overuse and climate change are sapping the Colorado river, source of a fifth of U.S. GDP and at least $1.3 trln of market value. The feds and basin states are struggling to adapt, but investors pay little heed. Plus, can India Prime Minister Modi’s budget help him win re-election?

India’s rate cut fuels fears of a yes-man governor

7 February 2019

A surprise move to trim the cost of borrowing, less than a week after an expansionary budget, will raise concerns that freshly appointed Shaktikanta Das is dancing to New Delhi’s tune. An election, after all, is months away. Lacklustre price increases, though, provide some cover.

India Insight: If Modi loses, graft can return

4 February 2019

The prime minister won power by promising good governance and good days. He has largely delivered the former by shifting the consensus on corruption. The latter is elusive. If Modi is weakened in the upcoming election, some of the gains beloved by global investors will be lost.

India’s big budget betrays Modi’s election angst

1 February 2019

A decision to ease efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit will dent the government’s prudent reputation. Yet support for farmers, a new pension scheme and a higher effective tax exemption, even as revenues fall short, will give the prime minister a better shot at a second term.

Amazon and Walmart get caught in India’s web

1 February 2019

The U.S. titans will be limited to operating marketplaces and prevented from being online retailers under New Delhi’s rules. That opens the door for billionaire Mukesh Ambani to power ahead with his own e-commerce plans. The miscalculation by Amazon and Walmart could be costly.

India’s competitive populism sets ugly fiscal path

30 January 2019

Congress party chief Rahul Gandhi is promising voters a minimum basic income of sorts, on top of a pledge to waive farm loans across the country. That would blow a hole in the budget. With an election close, it also puts pressure on Narendra Modi’s government to respond in kind.

Viewsroom: China’s slowdown is not created equal

17 January 2019

People in the Middle Kingdom are buying fewer iPhones and cars, but Nike and others are chugging away nicely. Meanwhile, India’s struggling rural farmers are a force too big to ignore in this year’s general election. Plus: The Detroit auto show reflects the industry’s gloom.

Stalling Jet Airways puts Narendra Modi in a bind

17 January 2019

To save the private carrier, India’s premier may have to choose between relaxing foreign ownership rules for Abu Dhabi’s Etihad and letting state banks take a hit. Both options touch the sorest points of Indian finance: it's an awkward dilemma in the run-up to a general election.

India’s coerced bank M&A has financial logic too

8 January 2019

Deals are coming fast on the back of political and regulatory pressure. Plucky $9 bln Bandhan will buy richly valued mortgage lender Gruh without paying a premium. It follows a sensibly-structured three-way merger among state banks. These are some good signs for the industry.