Indian bank rescue may lure foreign equity investors

Mumbai

INDIAN Equities, already among the top performers in Asia this year, may start drawing back foreigners after the government announced a US$32 billion rescue for state-owned banks weighed down by bad loans.

"Foreign investors will view this very positively," said Sageraj Bariya vice-president of sales at East India Securities. The plan "should inspire confidence in trade, industry and investors". Overseas investors so far in October have sold a net US$1 billion of Indian stocks, cutting their 2017 investment by 20 per cent, following the slowest economic growth in three years. Even so, the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 set fresh records as domestic investors ploughed money into shares, shrugging off concerns about how last year's currency ban and a new tax regime were affecting corporate profits.