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FOREWORD
This book by Michael Gorham, Ajay Shah and Susan Thomas (the latter twobeing the foremost independent financial economists in India today) is INDIS-PENSABLE! No bookshelf that pretends to be sufficiently knowledgeable aboutIndian economics or finance at the beginning of the 21st century can afford tobe without it. It is a must for any financial analyst or economist located any-where who has a professional or personal interest in surveying, understanding,or investing in the Indian economic and financial-market scene.It is of import for bankers (commercial and investment), capital marketspecialists, asset managers, investment operatives in sovereign wealth funds,drivers of mergers and acquisitions, portfolio managers, institutional portfolioas well as corporate direct foreign investors, private bankers, emerging marketspecialists,brokersintheglobalsecuritiesindustry,exchangeexecutives;
indeed for anyone with a professional or investment interest in knowing what makes Indianmarkets tick
.I would recommend it for knowledgeable individuals (providing of coursethat they are sufficiently literate/numerate to have acquired post-graduatequalifications)wantingtoacquireIndianassetstoaccountforapartoftheirnetworth. With India well on the way to becoming one of the world’s four largesteconomic blocs (after EU, US/NAFTA and China) there can be few people inthe world of finance without such an interest, whether established or nascent.That automatically implies a very large market for this book.This volume is an equally important read for policy and decision-makersin the public or private domains with an institutional interest in investing inIndia now or in the near future. It is essential reading for senior officialdom(whether in national governments, multilateral agencies or foresight-focusedpolicy institutes) and for accomplished academics in any top university withan India-focused program.The canvas this book covers is breathtakingly ambitious in width and scope.It is equally impressive in depth, content, simplicity and lucidity of writingstyle, anditstreatmentofcriticalcoreandemergingissuesthatinfluenceIndianfinancialmarkets.ItisexhaustiveindetailinghowIndianfinancialmarketshave
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Foreword
evolved, and how far they have come since 1992–1993. But it is equally honestand lucid about how much remains to be done before Indian finance can beequated fully with markets, instruments, institutions, regulation (in terms of policy, practice and architecture) standards and practices that apply in the bestof the rest of the world. Astute readers would gain an immediate and definitivesenseofexactlywhereIndianfinancenowlies—betweenbeingamongthemoredeveloped emerging markets (way ahead of China but behind Brazil and Chile)but lagging much too far behind globally significant markets like Singapore.Its contents cover the economic backdrop and context for India’s financialmarkets; the evolution of its debt and equity markets for both public and pri-vately issued securities; the role and emergence of Indian securities exchangesthatarenowamongthemosttechnologicallyproficientintheworld; thebelatedemergenceofitsderivativesmarketandtheirsubsequentlopsideddevelopment;the increasing role of realty and property investment in Indian financial mar-kets; and a discussion of routes of entry into India (e.g., via Mauritius) for bothportfolio and direct investors.That far-from-exhaustive list is one indication (there are many others) whythisbookhastobebought(andquickly)byanyonewithaninterestin“financialIndia.” Itislikelytobeusefulbothasanoperatingmanualforpractitionerswithan India-focused interest as well as a reference work that will remain valuablefor some time to come.The only hope one can express after reading it is that the authors will besufficiently diligent and mindful of the needs of their readership to update itevery so often (at least every five years) to keep them (and their successors)abreast of how Indian finance continues to evolve and progress a pace.
Percy S. Mistry
Chairman, Oxford International GroupMarch, 2008
About Percy Mistry
Mr. Percy Mistry is Chairman of the Oxford International (OI) Group, com-prising companies engaged in investment banking, asset management, privateequityinvestmentandcorporatefinanceservicesinemergingmarkets. OIoper-ates in Europe, North America, South and Southeast Asia, the Indian Oceanislands and Eastern & Southern Africa. Mr. Mistry is also an Advisor to theExecutive Secretary of UN-ECA and has consulted for a number of interna-tional organizations (the UN, various multilateral development banks and theCommonwealth Secretariat) on work in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. HehelpedtheCommonwealthSecretariatestablishthefirstCommonwealthEquityFund; directed a study on Privatization in Commonwealth countries; assistedwithitsworkoninternationalfinance; andevaluatedtheSecretariat’sassistanceto member countries with various international negotiations.
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