Samvat 2074: Manish Chokhani of Enam Holdings is betting big on private sector banks

Manish Chokhani of Enam Holdings is betting big on private sector banks in India. (Image:Reuters)

The banking stocks may have dragged the Sensex in Muhurat trading yesterday, with Axis Bank leading the pack, however, Manish Chokhani of Enam Holdings is bullish on the private sector banks and NBFCs in India. In an interview to ET Now, Manish Chokhani said, “There is serious money to be made in the whole private banking space because this big shift of financialisation, digitisation is here to stay. Money will move over there.” The expert predicts that private sector banks will increasingly dominate the lending space in india. “It cannot be that public sector banks remain 70% of India. Incrementally anyway 50% is going to private sector banks and NBFCs. What happens to Air India, what happens to MTNL what happens to sector after sector – Doordarshan,” he told the channel.

Explaining the shift, Manish Chokhani, Director of Enam Holdings said, “Inevitably it will happen to the public sector space with no disrespect there are fine managers there, but the decision making is so tied up that in an agile world, you would end up losing. Compensation levels are not great either. All of that put together makes you believe that the opportunity for private banking, NBFC, insurance, AMC, brokerages is just fantastic in India.”

In the same conversation, Manish Chokhani also explained that the economy is slowing down due to lack of fresh capital and velocity. “From a common sense point of view, you make money either by putting fresh capital or by increasing velocity. We seem to have stalled on fresh capital by way of all our rules and regulations which we were trying to change. But then because of the well needed and good reforms like GST and demonetisation, we also put a spanner in velocity. So, it is no surprise that the economy is stalling,” Manish Chokhani told ET Now.

He also advised the investors to remain invested in the markets. “Lots of stocks are trading far higher than what we would have imagined ourselves and so we are in a sense scared bulls who are holding on. If you ask us for fresh new things to buy today, we would be a bit more sanguine but meanwhile the ride is there. You stay invested and participate,” Manish Chokhani said.