UNO Minda, Amara Raja, Kaynes shares rise as PM Modi mentions need to 'restore' ties with China

Xi Jinping, PM Modi

Shares of Indian companies with exposure to China gained on March 17, a day after Prime Minister Modi mentioned on the Lex Friedman podcast said India and China are seeking to restore ties that had turned sour, after a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in 2020.

Consumer Electronic stocks surged, with Kaynes Technology shares trading nearly 2 percent higher at Rs 4,310 apiece. A major part of the company’s components are imported from China, along with other countries. Syrma SGS Technology shares were trading nearly 2 percent higher at Rs 420 apiece.

Automotive equipment supplier Uno Minda surged over 4 percent to trade at Rs 941.15 per share. In June last year, the company had signed a deal with China's lnovance Automotive to boost its electric four-wheeler product portfolio. The company had said that the deal will 'significantly' expand its e-4W product portfolio, enabling them to effectively cater to the growing Indian EV market. "Uno Minda aims to further strengthen the partnership by transitioning it into a joint venture, subject to necessary approvals," it had said in a regulatory filing in June 2024.

Minda Corporation shares gained nearly 2 percent to trade at nearly Rs 527 apiece. Its flagship company Spark Minda had signed a technology licensing agreement with China's Sanco Connecting Technology, a leader in Electric Vehicle (EV) connection systems, in September last year. Minda Corporation and Sanco will locally develop EV connecting systems, charging gun assemblies with sockets and accessories, bus bars, cell contact systems, Power Distribution Units (PDU) and Battery Distribution Units (BDU) as part of the agreement.

Amara Raja Energy & Mobility shares rose over a percent to trade at Rs 976 per share. The Indian battery-maker had partnered with Chinese EV battery maker Gotion in June 2024 to produce lithium-ion batteries in India.

Chemical manufacturers too saw a strong uptick in their share prices, with PI Industries, Neogen, SRF and Navin Fluorine up over a percent each.

During a podcast with Lex Fridman over the weekend, PM Modi discussed the "long history" of India-China relations. "Look, the relationship between India and China isn't something new. Both nations have ancient cultures and civilizations. Even in the modern world, they play a significant role. If you look at historical records, for centuries, India and China have learned from each other. Together, they have always contributed to the global good in some way," he said.

"If we look back centuries, there's no real history of conflict between us. It has always been about learning from each other and understanding one another," PM Modi said.

Speaking about the tensions arising in 2020 following the clashes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), PM Modi said, "Our relationship should remain just as strong in the future. It should continue to grow. Of course, differences are natural. When two neighboring countries exist, occasional disagreements are bound to happen. Even within a family, not everything is always perfect. But our focus is to ensure that these differences don’t turn into disputes,” said the PM.

"We are now working to restore conditions to how they were before 2020. Slowly but surely, trust, enthusiasm, and energy will return. But of course, it will take some time, since there's been a five-year gap. Our cooperation isn't just beneficial, it's also essential for global stability and prosperity. And since the 21st century is Asia's century, we want India and China to compete in a healthy and natural way. Competition is not a bad thing, but it should never turn into conflict," PM Modi said.