Don't believe mkts will take highs in 2010: Parag Saxena

Nifty BSE | NSE 31/05/12 Are Mutual Funds betting on Nifty?

Q: Let me get back to you as a venture capitalist, when you were at Chancellor and Investco, you were originally investing in companies like Starcom and Starbuck and Amgen, consumer focused companies, do you see similar companies coming up in India now?

A: I think that you will see all of the kinds of companies that we have invested in. I think a bigger challenge in venture is going to be just the institutionalisation of the venture industry. It reminds me of the venture business at the end of the 70s in the US, we had to stumble, make some mistakes, form syndicates, convince promoters that you can add value. That is a necessary step for early stage venture financing to occur. That is one part of the problem.

You asked about whether these kinds of companies will come up and succeed, of course they will.

Q: Do you see such opportunities in India today?

A: You have interesting companies like Coffee Day and so on that are parallels of Starbucks. I think that there are many other like opportunities, one that I've always wondered about since I was a kid and I used to watch or read about McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken and I still wonder why don't we have a good Udupi chain, why don't we have a good chole-bhature chain. We have fabulous cuisine in India.

We do have a few white table cloth type restaurants. So you have got the Oh! Calcutta chain, you have got the Mainland China chain, they are owned by the same people, but I think that there is a paucity of cuisine from India instead of just aping Western concepts, instead of creating another Pizza Hut; we should have so many more things.

Q: Are you talking to entrepreneurs who are doing that?

A: I am constantly looking for entrepreneurs. In fact I hope some will call me when they see this on television.