สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 19 มีนาคม 2557
Gujarat means business, tops list of economically-free states
Narendra Modi-led Gujarat continues to remain the top-ranked Indian state in terms of “economic freedom,” an index that measures governance, growth, citizens’ rights and labour and business regulation among the country’s 20 largest states. “Gujarat has widened its lead at the top of the economic freedom table, with an index score of 0.65 (on a scale from 0 to 1.0). Tamil Nadu remains in second position, but some distance behind, with a score of 0.54,” said the latest “Economic Freedom of the States of India” report 2013. Bihar, which continues to remain at the bottom of table, however, has progressed by leaps and bounds after Nitish Kumar assumed charge as the state’s chief minister, the report said. A reading of the index closer to 1 indicates greater economic freedom and shows the correlation between economic freedom and the well-being of citizens. The three states recording the fastest improvement in economic freedom have been among the fastest-growing states. Growth has averaged 12% in Gujarat, 10.6 % in Chhattisgarh and 10.4% in Andhra Pradesh between 2005 and 2011.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
Goldman upgrades Indian markets to overweight
On a day when both the Sensex and Nifty scaled their lifetime highs, US brokerage Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on Indian stocks to “overweight” citing improving domestic economic data and expectations linked to the upcoming general elections. It expects the NSE Nifty to touch 7,600 points this year, a 17% upside from current levels. Historically, Indian equities have fared well in the run-up to the elections. Goldman said GDP growth has bottomed out in the first quarter and picked up going forward. The cyclical macro adjustments had resulted in a reduction in external vulnerability, eased pressure on the current account, increased forex reserves and stabilised the rupee. It said Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Coal India, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro to be among the stocks to benefit from the elections. On sectoral preferences, the note said the brokerage continues to be overweight on information technology and energy, it also added automobiles to the category. It put banks, investment cyclicals and utilities in the market-weight category, while health care, staples, and telecom companies and real estate were in the underweight category.
(Source: Hindustan Times & Business Standard)
Morgan Stanley raises India's 2014 GDP growth forecast to 5.2%, cuts inflation to 7.6%
Forecasting a marginal improvement in India's economy, Morgan Stanley has revised the GDP growth forecast for 2014 to 5.2 per cent from 5.1 per cent earlier. It also lowered retail inflation forecast for 2014 to 7.6 per cent from the earlier 8.2 per cent. The report said in the recent months policy makers as well as the private sector have made some efforts to improve productivity. The government, it said, "has started to initiate policy steps to improve the business environment, such as allowing periodic diesel price hikes, setting up the Cabinet Committee of Investment to expedite approvals of large projects, notifying of natural gas price policy, and liberalising FDI limits". In the October-December quarter, India's economy grew below expectations at 4.7 per cent on falling output in the manufacturing sector. Growth in the first nine months (April-December) was 4.6 per cent. The economy must expand by 5.7 per cent in January-March to achieve estimated GDP expansion of 4.9 per cent in 2013-14. As per data, in February retail inflation fell to a 25-month low of 8.1 per cent, while wholesale price-based inflation stood at 4.68 per cent, a 9 month low level. Referring to external sector, Morgan Stanley said the current account deficit (CAD) has narrowed substantially from 6.5 per cent in October-December of 2012 to 0.9 per cent of quarter ending December 2013.
(Source: Financial Express)
Cyrus Mistry, Tata Group chairman, plans to spend at least $8 bn on infrastructure development
Cyrus Mistry, chairman of the Tata Group, is planning to spend at least $8 billion in building roads, airports and housing, betting a stable administration after the country's coming elections will lead to a new wave of infrastructure development. The initiative from Tata, which control assets including Jaguar Land Rover and New York's Pierre hotel, underscores the hope among Indian corporates that infrastructure project approvals and spending will pick up when a new government is formed after elections ending in mid-May. India needs to spend $2.2 trillion by 2030 on urban transportation, housing and office space to boost infrastructure ranked below that of Guatemala and Namibia by the World Economic Forum, McKinsey said in a 2010 study. The S&P BSE Sensex added 0.1% to 21,832.61 at the close in Mumbai. The S&P BSE Capital Goods Index declined 0.4%, paring its year-to-date gain to 13%. From 2012 through 2017, India is likely to spend Rs 41 lakh crore ($668 billion ) on infrastructure with almost half of it being provided by the private sector , Siddhartha Roy, Tata Group's chief economic advisor, told reporters in June.
(Source: Economic Times)
Coke plans to set up Rs 1,200-cr unit in AP; Nellore to be biggest greenfield facility in Asia
The world's largest beverage firm, Coca-Cola, plans to set up its biggest greenfield manufacturing facility in Asia at a cost of about Rs 1,200 crore in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh to take on its rival PepsiCo, which has decided to build a similar unit in the same state. "Coca-Cola's Indian representatives, who are currently waiting for clearances from their headquarters, are expected to sign an initial lease agreement with IFFCO over the next couple of weeks. The facility would come up over 150 acres of land in the industrial zones being developed by IFFCO in the region," the person told ET. Coca-Cola's move to choose the district is to bridge a growing demand for its products in the three southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Coca-Cola trails behind its own Thums Up and Sprite aerated drinks as well as rival Pepsi in India. India is the seventh largest market for Coca-Cola. The company has announced incremental investments of $5 billion (Rs 30,500 crore) along with its partner from 2012 to 2020. IFFCO is developing Kisan special economic zones spread across 2,776 acres at Naidupet in Nellore, where nearly a dozen dairy and food processing companies have already set up their facilities and another 10 have signed initial agreements involving more than Rs 3,000 crore of investments.
(Source: Economic Times)
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