Chris Wood s confidence in Indias potential is also reflected in the Asia ex-Japan long-only portfolio where the biggest bets are on Indian domestic names. At present, 31 per cent of the portfolio is in India. Among the stocks that are part of the index are ICICI Bank, Godrej Properties, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, HDFC and Reliance Industries.
This has been achieved through a combination of reduction in cost of debt by 80-160bps, reduction in corporate overheads by 20-40% from pre-Covid levels, operating cash surpluses, asset sales and equity capital raises either through the QIP route or through dilution at the SPV level.
The double-digit pay increase in fiscal 2021 compares with a 3% rise in FY20 when the nationwide lockdown had affected the last ten days of the fiscal year and the wallets of CEOs as many boards decided to freeze or cut the bonus and variable pay, thus taking away a large chunk from the salary of top executives.
Mumbai is likely to comprise a 28 per cent share of total sales and nearly 30 per cent of new launches. Bengalurus share will be 20 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively while Delhi-NCR may comprise an 18 per cent share of sales and 15 per cent of new launches, as per estimates.
"On a broad base, Reliance has again taken the leadership role. We think underdogs like ITC and some of the banks are all looking good. And metals are leading the party, along with IT stocks. "