India a top growth market but still underowned globally: Matt Orton
Agencies
Trump was elected talking about 10-15% tariffs, that is essentially where we have settled right now in the US.
"There are a lot of companies who are actively involved in this, but L&T is one of the names I have been looking at deeper, just given an incredibly clean balance sheet, but they have not only exposure to Indian infrastructure but also infrastructure in the GCC where there is a tremendous amount of capex and development and hydrocarbons, ports, all of that. So that is a really-really interesting play right now," says Matt Orton, Raymond James Investment.
What brings you to India?
Matt Orton: So, I am here for an investor conference with Bank of America. So, as we have talked a lot about India being one of my favourite regions. So, there is a lot of interesting companies that we look at, invest in, and so being able to speak with management teams in person, ask a lot of the questions you need, finding new ideas, I think that is all a critical part of the investment process. And so, it is wonderful to be able to do that in person and then share and talk about ideas with other investors as well.
Is it your first India trip?
Matt Orton: So, this is my second time in Mumbai.
When was the last one?
Matt Orton: Last year. So, I was here for the elections which was quite an exciting time to be here.
But I bet visibly you must have seen a lot of infra development. I mean, that is something that you cannot miss if you visit Mumbai even a year after. Any infra companies which are part of your portfolio or you are scouting for?
Matt Orton: Absolutely. So, the infrastructure story is incredibly exciting. You come here and see the coastal highway between last year and this year just the tunnel being opened, being able to get from where we are in South Mumbai over to here this morning, it is amazing. So, there are a lot of companies who are actively involved in this, but L&T is one of the names I have been looking at deeper, just given an incredibly clean balance sheet, but they have not only exposure to Indian infrastructure but also infrastructure in the GCC where there is a tremendous amount of capex and development and hydrocarbons, ports, all of that. So that is a really-really interesting play right now.
We had Ridham Desai from Morgan Stanley before you came in and he is like okay India everybody knows, everybody loves, but hardly anybody owns it. Is that true from a global perspective that India is a great market to go, but in terms of commitment levels they are minuscule?Matt Orton: It is true. There is a couple of things that are at play. India is a more challenging market to invest in as an overseas investor. You have to be very committed to open up trading licenses. There is definitely passive ways you can play it by some of the ETFs, but there are not as many active options. So, I think as an investor, that is what makes it more exciting because you do not have a tonne of foreign flows going into these companies, there is more room for these ideas to play out. But in conversations with clients, especially as clients are finally starting to look overseas as opposed to the US being the only option as you see good returns coming from the rest of the world, there is a very real openness to finding new markets and other long-term growth opportunities. And so, India is certainly one that is very exciting and is a standout relative to say Europe where there is some very-very interesting opportunities there, but there is not the same growth story. We are looking at the fourth largest economy, soon to be third largest economy in the world, that is a tremendous pool of really-really compelling investments. So, for the long term, you have such growth with the market that I would argue is still underpenetrated from an investment perspective.
So, country-wise, which is your largest exposure or region?
Matt Orton: So, the US is my largest region right now. I think that the earning story continues to play out. The US market continues to scale this wall of worry. It has been one of the most hated rallies I can remember. But when you look at the fundamentals, the fundamentals are working. Corporate America is working. A lot of the long-term secular growth themes like artificial intelligence, changes to consumer habits, those are all compelling ideas where you are seeing compounding returns in the US. But you look to a market like India as well, a lot of those same themes are playing out and they are embedded even in stories of financial companies, auto companies. So, there is a lot of ways you can play this and that is what I try and do is find these long-term growth themes and how does that fit into different companies around the world.
But you do not think there would be a tariff hit back and that is going to stall the growth in US?
Matt Orton: So, tariffs are going to hit growth in some way shape or form but a lot of that is already baked into the market. So, you had that vicious selloff after Liberation Day in the US and investors realise that is certainly the ceiling to where tariffs go. Trump was elected talking about 10-15% tariffs, that is essentially where we have settled right now in the US. So, there is going to be ups and downs as we negotiate these trade deals. But hopefully, as you start to see some of them come to the table and you get through that volatility, the market will have recalibrated by that point and it will become fundamentally driven again and we saw what that could look like during earning season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
130-year-old dream of erstwhile Dogra ruler becomes a reality
A train to the Kashmir valley through the Shivalik and Pir Panjal mountain ranges is more than a century-old ambitious plan that is set to turn into reality on Friday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off a Vande Bharat train from Katra to Kashmir. 'What was once a vision proposed in the 19th century by Dogra maharaja Pratap Singh is now transforming into one of the most significant infrastructure achievements in independent India's history,' a senior railway official said. Vikramaditya Singh, grandson of Maharaja Hari Singh and son of former Sadr-e-Riyasat Karan Singh, said he feels proud that the Dogra ruler's plan conceived over 130 years ago has finally materialised. 'The railway line project to the Kashmir Valley was first envisaged and drawn up during Maharaja Pratap Singh's rule. It is a matter of great pride not only for the people of Jammu & Kashmir but for the entire nation that this dream will be realised by our PM,' Singh, who has been a legislator in Jammu and Kashmir, said. The Dogra ruler had commissioned British engineers to survey the rugged terrain for a railway route to Kashmir, an ambitious project that remained unrealised for over a century. He appointed three British engineers to prepare and execute detailed reports. However, two of the three reports prepared in 11 years between 1898 and 1909 were rejected. According to special documents from the J&K archives department, the idea of a rail link to Kashmir was first proposed on March 1, 1892 by the Maharaja. Subsequently, in June 1898, British engineering firm SR Scott Stratten and Co was engaged to conduct surveys and execute the project. The first report, submitted by DA Adam, recommended an electric railway between Jammu and Kashmir regions, featuring steam locomotives on a narrow two-feet-six-inch gauge line. This proposal was rejected due to the challenging elevation levels. Another proposal, submitted in 1902 by WJ Weightman, suggested a railway line connecting Kashmir from Abbottabad (now in Pakistan) along the Jhelum river. This, too, was turned down. The third proposal, by Wild Blood, recommended a railway alignment along the Chenab river through the Reasi area. This report was approved. Later, plans for powering electric trains and establishing power stations near Udhampur, Ramsu, and Banihal were also examined but ultimately rejected. Following this, British engineer Col D E Bourel was tasked with submitting a detailed report on local coal reserves. Additionally, a report was commissioned from TD La Touche, the then deputy superintendent of the Geological Survey of India, on the Sangarmarg and Mehowgala coal mines. In December 1923, SR Scott Stratten and Co was re-engaged to implement the coal extraction project. However, the death of Maharaja Pratap Singh in 1925 and the growing Indian independence movement led to the project being shelved permanently, the documents said. The idea was revived nearly six decades later, when the then PM Indira Gandhi laid the foundation stone for the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar railway line in 1983. At the time, the project was estimated to cost ₹50 crore and was expected to be completed in five years, officials said. However, in 13 years, only 11 km of the line could be constructed, which comprised 19 tunnels and 11 bridges, costing ₹300 crore, they said. It was followed by the broader Udhampur-Katra-Baramulla railway project, estimated at ₹2,500 crore, which saw its foundation stones laid by PMs HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral in 1996 and 1997 at Udhampur, Qazigund, and Baramulla. Construction began in 1997 but faced repeated delays due to challenging geological, topographical, and weather conditions, significantly inflating the cost to over ₹43,800 crore as of now. Recognising the strategic importance of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL), it was declared a national project in 2002, the officials said. Out of the 272 km stretch, 209 km has already been commissioned in phases including Qazigund-Baramulla in 2009, Banihal-Qazigund in 2013, Udhampur-Katra in 2014, and Banihal-Sangaldan in 2023. The final stretch connecting Katra to Sangaldan has completed the link in February 2024, they said. 'The Kashmir train project, once just a royal vision, now stands as a symbol of national integration and engineering excellence', an official said.
Time of India
9 minutes ago
- Time of India
Putin To Attack Ukraine's Capital? U.S. Embassy Issues Urgent Security Alert For Americans In Kyiv
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has issued a stark security warning to Americans, urging them not to ignore air raid sirens and to prepare for potential attacks. The alert comes amid rising tensions following Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian air bases. President Trump has expressed concern over a possible major Russian air assault. Russia has blamed Ukraine for escalating the conflict and labeled recent sabotage as terrorism. This report breaks down the growing threat in Kyiv and what it means for civilians on the ground.#kyiv #ukraine #russia #war #putin #zelensky #usembassy #donaldtrump Read More
Time of India
9 minutes ago
- Time of India
Trump orders inquiry into 'conspiracy' to hide Biden's health decline
Trump orders inquiry into 'conspiracy' to hide Biden's health decline (Image: AP) WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into what Republicans claim was a "conspiracy" to cover up Joe Biden's declining cognitive health during his time in the White House. The move, which was slammed by Biden, is the latest in a long-running campaign by Trump -- with the backing of Republican Party politicians and their cheerleaders in the conservative media -- to discredit his predecessor. But it also comes as a growing chorus of Democrats begin to acknowledge the former president appeared to have been slipping in recent years. Those concerns were thrown into stark relief by a disastrous debate performance against Trump during last year's presidential campaign, in which the then-81-year-old stumbled over his words and repeatedly lost his train of thought. "In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden's aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline," a presidential memorandum issued Wednesday reads. "This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history. "The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts." - 'Ridiculous and false' - Biden vehemently denied the allegations. "Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations," he said in a statement shared with AFP. "Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false," he said, slamming the ordered probe as "nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation." Republicans have long claimed that Biden was suffering from intellectual decline even as the White House pressed ahead with major legislation and presidential decrees during his term. They cite his infrequent public appearances, as well as his apparent unwillingness to sit for interviews as evidence of what they say was a man incapable of doing the demanding job of Commander-in-Chief of the United States. They insist that those around him covered up his physical and cognitive decline, taking decisions on his behalf and using a device that could reproduce his signature to allow them to continue to run the country in his name. - 'Autopen' - "The Counsel to the President, in consultation with the Attorney General and the head of any other relevant executive department or agency... shall investigate... whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President," the document says. The probe will also look at "the circumstances surrounding Biden's supposed execution of numerous executive actions during his final years in office (including) the policy documents for which the autopen was used (and) who directed that the President's signature be affixed." Biden's calamitous debate performance ultimately sank his bid for re-election, with key Democratic Party figures soon calling for him to drop out of the race. But it was only several weeks later, after unsuccessful attempts to quieten his critics, that he withdrew, anointing his vice-president Kamala Harris, who eventually lost to Trump. The Democratic Party is increasingly riven by squabbles about whether Biden could have been forced to step down earlier to give the party chance to find a more popular presidential candidate. The fight has been given oxygen with the publication of a book by journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that claims the former president's inner circle connived to keep him from public view because of his decline, which included forgetting familiar faces like Hollywood star and party stalwart George Clooney. Trump's claims of a cover-up were also boosted by news that Biden is suffering from an "aggressive" prostate cancer, with some voices on the right insisting -- without evidence -- the diagnosis must have been known some time ago to those close to the former president.
