MC Interview: India will be world's third largest economy; vision of PM Modi is excellent, says Hinduja

G.P., let's begin with you. I wanted to get your thoughts on the India growth story under the Narendra Modi regime. Are you bullish on the India growth story? And if yes, which factors make it an attractive investment destination because there are many world leaders who are now saying the globe's focus is on India?

G.P. Hinduja: You see, globally there are problems. If you look at Europe, the economy is going down. If you look at the US, there are problems there. The war between Russia-Ukraine, Russia-China joining together, and now again Israel and Palestine. These are all problematic things and people are worried. They don't know what is going to happen. India has maintained good and neutral relations with all and I have been saying on behalf of the group since 2019 that India will be the third-largest economy in the world. I still stand by it. It is going well and I am confident with the talent and the capability they have. The only thing missing is the ease of doing business, although India is progressing. But the vision of Prime Minister Modi is excellent. He has to work a little bit harder to implement this faster. (ease of doing business) The world is looking to India to come and invest, but they get stuck when they come because of slow movement. And in my opinion, irrespective of everything, India will keep on growing.

Right. On that optimistic note, let me shift focus to the BFSI space. That's a space that is really exciting for the Hinduja group. A.P. Hinduja, you look into this space very closely. Recently the Hinduja group had won the auction process for Reliance Capital under the IBC route (the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code route). From what I understand, you want to have a complete bouquet of all BFSI products, right? Reliance Capital gives you a few of them. But there are gaps like asset management and wealth management. Are you looking actively at any targets in the space?

A.P. Hinduja: Let me add to it. As rightly said, BFSI, is the full sector we want to cover. There are still areas that are open, which we are looking into and at the right opportunity, right timing, once we conclude, we will definitely inform you. But I'm hopeful by this financial year, most of the BFSI sector will be covered.

When it comes to the M&A route, are any segments in BFSI that you're looking at currently, any targets?

A.P. Hinduja: Yes, we are, but unfortunately, I cannot disclose anything. We are looking into it. We are under due diligence. And I'm hopeful, as I said, that during this financial year by March, we'll be able to announce one or two such acquisitions.

IndusInd International Holdings (IHL) is the entity that bid for Reliance Capital. What is your plan as far as value unlocking there is concerned as there are a bunch of investors there who would be looking for an exit. So is an IPO on the cards?

A.P. Hinduja: You see, we were looking for the right opportunity and once the value creation is there, only then we would go for divestment or an IPO. So now that the situation has come, I'm giving a time, say by mid-next year we should take this for listing, and this listing can be in the UK, it can be Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius, or even Luxembourg. It is all under study and I think by February-March, this will also be announced.

P.P Hinduja, your brother spoke about the impact of some of the geopolitical events that are shaping how economies are run, including India. How do you look at some of these events impacting the Hinduja business? It's a huge diversified conglomerate with a presence in so many jurisdictions.

P.P. Hinduja: After my experience in visiting Davos, the World Bank, IMF, and the Asian Development Bank, I came up with a few new concepts and ideas. Today, take, for instance, Africa, where the Indian strength is so big. The Japanese, the Chinese, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, don't have knowledge of Africa. So, I gave them a concept that they liked very much - how a tri-party concept should be developed like Japan-India-Africa, Saudi-India-Africa, and UAE-India-Africa, where we have Indian strength in terms of manpower and our experts. A lot of industrialists have done it like L&T and companies like Shapoorji Pallonji. So growing with partnership in a particular area, where a huge business can be developed with India and the African world, I see a big future. And you see today, a lot of conferences are happening in the UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, France on Africa in a big way. So India can play a very important role by getting financing from China and from other places, at a time when India is very strong in the African world. The Hinduja Group will play a very important role in this aspect.

Let's move on now to succession planning G.P. You are a big, diversified group and in your case, the next generation has already taken charge of some businesses, and their kids are involved as well. The Hinduja Group is looking at new and emerging areas like renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and the battery technology space. Has there been any serious thought when it comes to succession planning to ensure a smooth transition of the business to the next generation?

G.P. Hinduja: Let me tell you. In our family, since our late father's era, there have been five principles - Work to give, the word is a bond, act locally; think globally, advance fearlessly, and partner for growth. And then looking at all these things, one thing is very important, everything belongs to everyone, nothing belongs to anyone. We are all servers, not survivors. And all that we have has to go into the foundation for serving others. So if someone from the family in the fourth generation or fifth generation wants to do something different, ( they are) welcome. They can do anything that they want. We will not stop them.

A.P. Hinduja: But that has to be part of the group and the group will fully support.

Moneycontrol has many viewers and readers who are keen to know more about your listed companies and one of them is IndusInd Bank. What is the status of your plans to hike the stake of the promoter group to 26 percent in the private sector lender? You had an in-principle approval from the RBI so what's the road ahead?

A.P. Hinduja: See, the policy is already amended by the regulator and we are in the process of raising the capital and our first capital raise in that company will be by mid-November. So the first principle approval will be taken because the money is to be shown. The funds will be through the rights issue route. And then after the listing and the money flow comes in, hopefully by December-January we will be in the market to go above 15 percent.