Kotak Bank says investors optimistic, but cautious

Investment banking major Kotak Mahindra Bank today said investors' expectations have tempered over the last year and they are more cautious now.
"This time last year, there was unbridled optimism and there were huge expectations. But now, you have some optimism, but it is cautious and tempered," joint managing director C Jayaram told reporters here.
Stating that expectations were running ahead of reality last year, he aid there are many positives at the present, such as steep fall in the commodity prices.
The sharp fall in prices of gold, oil and other commodities is a big positive and can also result in a current account surplus, he said.

Inflation has also been kept under check with efforts by both the government and the Reserve Bank, he said, while talking about measures to keep the minimum support prices under control.
With the work on inflation, the RBI can look at rate cuts over a period of time, he added.

Unlike in Brazil and China, which have disappointed foreign institutional investors (FIIs), all FIIs are happy with their investments in India, Jayaram said.
This should help Indian equities market attract more inflows while traditional asset classes like realty may take a backseat, he added.
The key factor from here on is to show more activity on the ground, he said, but admitted that kick-starting investments takes time.

There are some green shoots which are emerging like jump in the road projects, but such factors will take at least one year to show results on the ground, Jayaram added.