The India story has continued to grow from strength to strength under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mahindra and Mahindra group CEO and managing director Anish Shah said on January 22.
"I've been in meetings with various global CEOs. Last year, people were still looking at India and saying, 'How should we play there?' The narrative this year is, we have to play there and we're just going to go there and figure out what we need to do, " Shah told Moneycontrol on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. “Therefore, India has clearly come on the map and is something that's very important for all global CEOs.”
Shah said Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States creates a fair degree of de-globalisation but also brings a sense of optimism.
"The focus of the government in the US will likely be on the economy, on growth, and that's going to be good for the world. So there's going to be a trade-off between growth and some level of barriers," he said.
Shah said this development wouldn't have any significant impact on the auto to information technology (IT) services conglomerate. "We've been in the US for over 25 years. We manufactured practice in the US and therefore, our business will continue to grow strong" he said.
Tech Mahindra, the conglomerate's IT services company, is also much less dependent on H-1B, Shah said, adding it is looking forward to growth in both the United States and India.
Capex plan
With rural consumption, government spending, and private sector investments identified as key drivers, the Mahindra Group has drawn up expansive capex plans, around Rs 30,000 crore over three years, spanning electric vehicles, solar energy, and farm machinery, Shah told Moneycontrol in an earlier interview.
Out of this, the conglomerate intends to deploy at least one-third to support its growth plans. "Our current businesses are growing at a very rapid pace... At this point in time, we are well ahead of our plans in terms of capex as well as growth" he said in Davos.
"We have enough cash and the cash accruals are very strong as well... each of our three major verticals, auto, farm and services are generating enough cash and more to be able to service their growth right now."
Also Read: Mahindra will play significant role in driving India’s manufacturing growth: Anish Shah
Shah also expects electric vehicles to start taking off in India. In November, M&M unveiled its much-anticipated 'Born Electric' range of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) -BE 6e and XEV 9e. The vehicles have received positive feedback from customers, so far, the M&M group CEO said.
The group is also continuing to evaluate opportunities in emerging areas such as healthcare, drones and consumer segments.
"We haven't quite found the right opportunity as yet and we're patient. For us, it's important to be able to do it in a way where we can generate returns higher than industry and we can build a scale business. Therefore, we will be very particular about where we enter. And when we do so, we will do so with scale," he said.
Shah added the group is focussed on growing its businesses for the long term. "Along the way, we will look at an IPO (for its high-potential businesses). But that's not a top priority for us, because we don't need capital," he said.
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