‘Recession fears won’t dent India investments’

Private equity companies on Saturday said investments will continue in India despite global recessionary trends and concerns around inflation. Speaking at the ET Global Business Summit, top investors said India remains a sought-after destination for new investments, especially in infrastructure and green projects.
“We are super excited about the India perspective, especially due to factors such as the demography and the tech talent. India creates opportunities for long-term investors,” Amit Dalmia, senior MD and Asia head of portfolio operations for Blackstone Private Equity, said. “India no longer comes after Europe, US, and China… India is the best-performing geography globally for Blackstone.”

McKinsey Asia chairman Gautam Kumra said India is one of the fastest growing markets when it comes to private equity and venture capital investments. “About $40-50 billion was invested in India last year. While it was equivalent to one-third of what went into China about three years back, the same must be two-thirds now.”
Ankur Gupta, India head for Brookfield, said many family businesses in India were moving to professional setups as investors came on board. He also said investors focused a lot on ESG while deciding their investment plans, with more aggressive targets set for India. Ravi Lambah, India head at Temasek and also the head of its investment group, said the company is excited about the start-up ecosystem of India: “We see innovative ideas here.”
Most of the PE investors said global economic concerns and the falling valuations of startups and highgrowth companies have not affected their India investments. “The macro is good, and the micro is getting better. If the world does see a mild recession… that’s not bad. It will see some businesses getting restructured,” said Gupta