Big Indian firms have eye on acquisitions, finds survey

Riding high on strong cash flow, Indian companies are looking to invest in acquisitions and increase their business aggressively during the next 12 months. According to a report by American Express, 83 per cent of the respondents in a survey planned to invest in acquisitions, while 93 per cent plan to raise capital spending over the next year.

“Most Indian finance executives say their companies have been experiencing strong cash flow over the past year (84 per cent) and a majority (68 per cent) report that they have been pursuing a deliberate cash preservation strategy. With many companies now sitting on large cash stockpiles, finance executives have plans to put this capital to work,” the survey said.

Termed the American Express/CFO Research Global Business & Spending Monitor, it polled 665 financial executives from Australia, the US Asia, Europe, Canada, and Latin America. Company revenues ranged from $500 million to more than $20 billion.

As many as 87 per cent of the finance officers polled in India expected modest or substantial economic expansion in the country. And, 62 per cent plan to focus on top line growth than on profitability (38 per cent).