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The IDFC Annual Conference 2018 - The Stock Called India

The IDFC Annual Conference 2018, hosted at Grand Hyatt Mumbai, from 19-21 November 2018, has been the largest event of its kind in the year so far, with representations from top managements (of 180+ companies), five keynote speakers, 6,000+ meetings and ~550 investors.

Year 2018 has been marked by domestic and global volatility (EM currency pressure, rising US yields, trade war concerns), which has been a top concern on investors’ minds in recent times. Upcoming state and general elections make it even more interesting. Even though the current government faces strong anti-incumbency, approval ratings for the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, remain strong. Opinion polls, journalists and political analysts remain divided on the expected outcome. Consequently, we saw keen interest from investors on understanding on-ground mood and possible alliances. Three of our five keynote speakers touched upon different aspects of upcoming elections and answered investors’ queries around the same. Most of the speakers indicated that BJP may win maximum seats in upcoming general elections, but expressed concerns on clear majority.

NPA and banking sector reforms are other areas of concern on investors’ minds, as it is holding back the private capex cycle and proving to be a hurdle to India’s secular growth story. Our keynote speakers, Mr. Abizer Diwanji (Partner and Country leader - Financial Services, E&Y) shared his insights on Insolvency and Bankruptcy code, which is an instrumental reform - targeted to deal with NPA concerns. Another key note speaker, Mr. Niranjan Rajadhyaksha (Research Director at IDFC Institute) indicated that NPA resolution and banking sector reforms will need to be a key reform agenda for the next government as well.

Most companies were optimistic on the outlook for next 1-2 years, driven by demand revival, as reform-related disruption (GST implementation and demonetisation) is behind us. While government reforms are yet to take their full effect, growth trajectory until then has taken a moderate path. Companies expect a slow but sustained improvement in growth trajectory here on.

Overall, most companies were optimistic on earnings recovery for FY19-20. We at IDFC Securities, thank all participants – companies and investors – that contributed to the success of The IDFC Annual Conference 2018. Our India Conference, an annual feature, provides an exhaustive view/analysis on emerging and existing macro trends. We look forward to hosting a larger pool of investors and companies next year, as growth gains momentum and new trends emerge