Budget Reactions: No dramatic change in market trajectory, says Akash Prakash

Akash Prakash, fund manager and chief executive office, Amansa Capital, speaking to CNBC, says he is disappointed that this is a Budget which has nothing dramatically new, no big bang reforms.

  Here are edited excerpts of the discussion

 

Q: What did you make of the Budget? It seems not to be having anything which was terribly negative, but not having enough big-bang surprises which could change the mood in the economy or the market?

 

A: I agree. I think that given the expectations, and how clued on to market and investors he is, I think there will be disappointment among investors that this is more of a budget which has nothing dramatically new.

 

It could have been far worse because it is in effect a Budget before the elections. It could have been far more populist. I guess we should be thankful for that. I think the food security bill is there. I would have thought he would have something far more radical either for the capital market or for investment. I mean, bringing back investment allowances, something like the 1990s.

 

I am disappointed because maybe my expectation was far greater. I thought he is a good finance minister, with a very good team. I think they knew what the problems are. Maybe I was expecting something more innovative, more radical.

 

Q: What do you expect for the market now; the FM has made repeated presentations to global investors. Do you think he has given enough to attract a lot of flows in the near term in the global backdrop today?

 

A: I think we are now back to trading on global factors, and our own fundamentals. This Budget to me is now effectively largely a non-event, in the sense I do not think it dramatically moved the market either up or down. As other commentators have said, this is not a disastrous Budget like last year, which will destroy market sentiment. But there is nothing in this which would take the market to a new level, either in terms of what we could do.   I think we are going to remain hostage to a certain extent to foreign flow, till such time domestic investors come back to the market. I do not think this Budget has got either enough positives to make the market go into a new range on the upside, neither does it have anything so negative that will bring the market down. There is nothing in this Budget which will change the market trajectory dramatically either way.