Nearly two years after Narendra Modi was elected as India's prime minister with an ambitious business-friendly agenda, the feeble pace of reforms is starting to test the patience of one of his biggest group of supporters: foreign investors.
Long overshadowed by China's spectacular rise, Modi's powerful electoral mandate stirred hopes that India finally had a leader capable of boosting its underwhelming investment climate and stolid global image.
However, in a disappointingly reminiscent narrative of previous administrations, partisan politics and a hostile opposition have stalled Delhi’s reform push, including delays to legislation on an important goods and services tax sought by businesses hamstrung by existing, cumbersome levies.
Foreign investors are showing their displeasure by heading for the exit, dumping a net $2.4 billion in shares this year - the second-biggest outflows in Asia excluding China, according to exchange data around the region.
A critical test now awaits Modi on Monday when the government unveils its budget for the year starting in April, giving the prime minister an opportunity to turn around views of the likes of Sergio Trigo Paz who said that India and Mexico were no longer the darlings of foreign investors.
ouch.The numbers tell the story. The NSE Nifty has slumped about 12
percent this year and around 24
percent from its record high of March last year, helping to send the rupee dangerously close to near an all-time low against the dollar.
Stock prices are now lower than they were in May 2014 when Modi swept to power with the biggest electoral mandate in three decades with a promise to deliver jobs to millions of youth and to transform India as a magnet for business.
Foreign investors have also turned sellers of Indian debt with net outflows at $833.5 million. That
contrasts with $54.6 billion in debt
and equity investments over 2014 and 2015.
Analysts also warn the perception of India as being the least worst off among emerging economies will not buy it unlimited time. "I have been investing in India too long to hold out much hope before things actually happen," said Anthony Cragg, senior portfolio manager at Wells Fargo Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund in Denver, Colorado.
Full details on http://in.reuters.com/article/idINKCN0VZ0GN?irpc=932
TL;DR: India is still waiting for AccheDin. Seriously. Hope it comes before our economy flows down to the dogs.