Monday, July 05, 2004

Stephen Roach's (MD, Morgan Stanley) take on India

The onus of good interview lies on the interviewer. An interviwer who knows his subject and asks good specific questions can definitely make the interview much more interesting. I realized this as I read a conversation with Stephen Roach telecasted on CNBC TV 18 (The article doesn't mention the interviewers).

Over the last few months, there has been a lot of concern about what Foreign Investors think about the future of Indian economy. Many half baked articles/analysis tell you how they will be concerned about 'reforms' etc. Stephen Roach clearly specifies his watchlist - Privatization, Infrastructure, and Foreign Investment. But the real beauty of the analysis is that the interview takes the issue deeper. Privatization- why ? What do the foreign investors want? Efficiences in Indian industries or just reduced deficits. Would diluting stakes do or is strategic sale the only option? Foreign Investment - What do the FI's want - would better procedures bring them back or an increase in caps would be needed?

The interview also analyses the Indian growth story - If services, then why? Is the government wrong on going back to the Manufacturing and agriculture? Lots of issues like this which concern those who have been watching the markets and policy announcements.

Now that you have read my views on the article, you can read the full text here

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