Will European investors look at India as an investment opportunity again?
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| The question and the outdoor advert that started it all! |
I have personally made it a point to try and remember and watch
it to find the answer to that question. More foreign investment translates directly
into more real estate and thus, a little more money in my bank account. Trust
me, we real estate guys in India have been seeing some very tough times. We
could do with some investments from the European nations, you know.
That question on the OOH has been blipping on my mind all
day. So, what do I really think? Apologies for my low understanding in advance,
but I can share with you a few conversations that I have had in the recent
past. Equipped with my inferences on those conversations, I shall try and
answer it for you and any European, if reading this.
Conversation #1: Will we need a VISA to go and see Ladakh
by 2020?
This conversation happened between me and Uttam (Brother,
guide, photographer and future farmer, Uttam has been around and seen enough
for me to take his researched opinion very seriously)
Me: Do you think China could actually attack India?
Uttam: Absolutely. India is the only country that it can
attack to show off it’s might to the world. China cannot attack Vietnam. It
cannot attack South Korea or Japan. That would mean waging war with large
powers. India is simply playing deep into the Chinese Checkers.
Me: What could be the motive?
Uttam: They have to humiliate India, so that they fulfill Japan’s great Asian empire dream. So they will decimate India and have their revenge on Japan. They do not have any other option.
Me: Do you think they will do something that crazy? The
whole world will be affected by that.
Uttam: That is exactly what they want. It is a show of
might. And that is the noise they want to make.
They will start by capturing Bhutan this time and then they will cut off
that 26 km chicken neck. Using that tool they could bargain anything they want
in return from India.
Conversation #2: What is AIDS?
This conversation happened between two men at a roadside
tea stall outside a hospital where they had come to see someone. I happened to
be there, sipping sweet milky tea and flipping through my emails. This is what
I overheard.
Man 1: Hey, what really happens with AIDS? I mean what is
the disease?
Man 2: Brother, AIDS is actually a stage of HIV infection
where the virus that has affected you has eaten into immune system so deep that
you cannot fight any disease or external infection. It makes the human body so
weak that you are vulnerable to any external threat. Slowly these threats enter
the system due to absence of your immunity and kill you.
So, there is no particular disease that could be
responsible for your death.
Man 1: Bro that is insane. I don’t know. Wish no one ever
got the HIV virus. Blood sucking freaks of nature!
Conversation #3: Who protects our gates?
This conversation was extremely private. I had it with
myself. You could just read that question, skip reading the text below this and
have that conversation with yourself as well. That would be fun.
Coalgate, railgate, chitfund gate, rapegate, terrorgate, tampergate, you get the point? Okay, I made up some of those but in India, we believe in living, not for the cause but for the effect. You can
laugh now.
With scams, instances of corruption, lack of
infrastructure, poverty, unsustainable real estate costs, inflation and Dr.
Dolittle at the helm of affairs, India’s immunity and internal strength seem to
be at an all time low right now. Thousands of wrong incidents, happening across
the country everyday are eating away India’s immune system. Our citizens are
mostly people like me. Well read, well traveled informed, understanding, loving,
sensitive and yet not knowing their own ass from their own elbow. Our
youngsters don’t know what reality is(if there is supposed to be any such
thing), except for the manufacturing labels of their gadgets. It makes China a
cool place thus. The elders are not bothered, having struggled all their lives
to feed their children and get them where they are. The children have loans to
repay and lives to lead. The country does not really matter to them. Across
industries and companies, we hear the same old story.
"What is happening to
today’s manpower? There is no commitment, no hard work, no sacrifice. How do these
people expect to succeed in life without the struggle and hardships"?
Well, they
know best.
The Indian political future does not look too bright
either. The guys currently running the show have let the country down like
nobody’ business. The guys who want to run the show in the future are going
to do pretty much the same. There is no leader in sight. There are no harsh
winds of change ahead. A little because the country has not produced a leader
of that scale yet. Or has produced a leader who has not been discovered yet. And
mostly because we are not bothered. That does not stop the virus from messing
us up internally while we sip our single malts and write out cheques to cool
charities. In fact, it is this carefree trait that makes them choose a host
like us. We can be eaten up with ease.
Those conversations aside, the reports will tell you that
all is good. Actually, everything is in the pink! Property prices are climbing
everyday. Infrastructure is being laid faster than you can say the F word and
the India consumption story is on an infinite climb to the heavens. Ask Audi,
BMW and Porsche. They will confirm the same over an email if you wish. You will also
have 496 credit rating agencies vouching for India. We are an absolutely
investment worthy country, dear Europeans. Bring it on. Watch it double in 3
years time.
My private view on the investment question.
Will European investors look at India again?
Let us watch that show and find out.
Cheers!
Rahul Mishra
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