Associate Sponsors

Bad news for Indian economy: Fresh private investments plunge 64% in Q2

Shrinking private investment is not good news for the economy, which is in a recovery mode

investment, small cap, mid cap
Illustration: Binay Sinha
Noor Mohammad | The Wire New Delhi
Last Updated : Oct 04 2018 | 7:41 AM IST
The bad loan problem, coupled with global headwinds like interest rate hikes in the US and continuing sell-offs in emerging markets, has started hurting the confidence of investors.

New investment announcements have declined in the July-September period for the second quarter in a row, show data compiled by the Centre of Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

Private and public sector companies together announced new projects worth Rs 1.49 trillion in the quarter which ended in September, 41% lower than the preceding quarter. On a year-on-year basis, the decline was less pronounced at 12%.

Fresh private investments plunged 64% in the quarter ended September, on a sequential basis. Compared to a year ago, the decline was relatively modest at 31%.

For the first time, the value of new projects announced by private players during the quarter was lower compared to those announced by the public sector.

The shrinking private investment is not good news for the economy, which is in a recovery mode.

The share of stalled projects also increased marginally during the July-September quarter. As much as 24% of all private projects remained stalled during the quarter under review.

The power sector was hit hardest, with the highest share of stalled projects at 35.5%, followed by the manufacturing industry which had 29.5% projects stalled.

Projects got stalled mainly due to lack of funding, fuel and raw material shortages and unfavourable market conditions.

On the bright side, project implementation gathered pace during the quarter. “There is a pick-up in implementation of projects, which will have a positive impact on GDP growth, though not so much on employment,” Mahesh Vyas, managing director and CEO, CMIE, told The Wire.

Also encouraging is the rise in new projects in the manufacturing sector, which witnessed a sharp recovery from the lows of the June-ended quarter. Yet, the value of new manufacturing projects in the September quarter is lower than what it was in the March quarter, data showed.

In arrangement with TheWire.in

One subscription. Two world-class reads.

Already subscribed? Log in

Subscribe to read the full story →
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

Next Story