FDI hungers for India’s growing consumer markets – What are the challenges?

Baytree’s investment into Godrej consumer underlines the long pending second line of investments to be made by the Asian SWF in India and other growing economies of the region.

While Malaysian Khazanah has just changed its charter from a Energy rich SWF to a diversified fund and may be more interested in smaller/monopoly plays in smaller Indo China economies, Temasek continues to farm the big money in China, Singapore and India.

Korea will probably make its own surplus SWF investments but still needs some inward interest from other SWF funds while india’s Top 20 in the Private Sector have been a matter of considerable Interest for Temasek since 1999.

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The use of so many subsidiary vehicles for Temasek however incl Cedar , Baytree and directly as well as the bigger sibling in GIC is likely to make governance complex however for the coming generations of investment from Temasek as well.

As more non staple entertainment products like Hollywood blockbusters have noted india’s liberalised market offers extreme challenges for inflation sensitive products and upsizing/super sizing of SKUs and price realisations there on. In such conditions, Godrej’s new structures are a tentative experiment and an early vote of confidence from Temasek must have been a long standing argument for the country managers and the Godrej management per se.

Neither Dabur nor Godrej are guaranteed any success, Airtel branded soaps and agarbattis may have a better chance even in africa ina few years as Proctor & Gamble with global brand recognition stays in consumer discretionary spends in its predominantly staples portfolio and remaining counted in super premium brands in their value Tide portfolios

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L’Oreal’s Body Shop chains and super premium men’s range have a better chance from the sheer profitability of their ‘slower’ product lines in the luxury market as India’ s penchant for super brands and luxury hotels translates into a supersized lifestyle premium “for those who can afford it” and thus its $1.4 bln JV with Lotus is a much more sizeable investment as Jawad Habib’s and Bounce like salons grow into the mindset of the new salaried executive hungering for a sumptuous weekend fare outside just dining experiences and mall entertainment.

Can’t read these men, Can’t read what us indians want women will probably welcome Oprah’s OWN on indian territory as these second line of FDI investors from global organised consumer industries from retail and media to consumer aviation and luxury automobiles are much better positioned to make real efforts to break into the India n market, their first line having blamed everything fromt he unhygenic Mumbai to government babus yet not really having the policies to blame and having turned around villages with a few dollars of investment .