Dear Shareholders
I am writing to you in truly unusual times. The markets and the economyhad its ups and downs but overall seemed to be yet another year of progress anddevelopment for most parts of FY 19-20. The last quarter though took a completelydifferent turn with the declaration of novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as a pandemic.The resultant lockdowns took the world by storm and reset priorities.
As of date globally there are approximately 70 Lakh people reported tohave contracted Covid-19 with around 4 Lakh reported deaths. This kind of death toll dueto a single cause is unprecedented. Both the developed and developing economies globallyare now confronted with a humanity health economic and financial crisis that has allmorphed into each other. Unwinding from this is going to be long and painful.
The political and enforcement systems in India have proved more thancapable in handling this major calamity despite the challenges and setbacks posed by sucha densely populated country with limited means. India has implemented one ofthe mostextensive lockdowns in South Asia in order to prevent a sharp rise in infections.
The lockdown as expected has caused a major strain on the Indianeconomy. Both the Reserve Bank of India and the government have taken a number of measuresto address the challenges and provide the much-needed stimulus to revive and restart theeconomy.
As soon as the national lockdown was announced the government wasquick to implement measures for the most vulnerable sections of society through directcash transfers and the provision of food. In this crisis it is imperative for India Inc.to support the government's endeavours. The HDFC group of companies together havecontributed ' 150 Crore towards the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Reliefin Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund).
From a monetary policy standpoint the RBI effected a slew of measuresincluding rate and reserve ratio cuts to improve liquidity and revive growth. It announcedtargeted long-term repo operations increased liquidity lines for refinance institutionsand also provided a special liquidity facility for mutual funds.
Despite the challenges and hardships it is important to staycautiously optimistic. The India growth story is about domestic consumption and demandwill revive and capacity utilisations will gradually rise.
My view on the mutual fund industry's growth story remains unchanged. Ibelieve this event has shed further light on the importance of household savings. Mutualfunds will remain important and relevant in the savings and investment landscape. HDFC AMCis well positioned to leverage the opportunity offered by the market. Your company hasnearly 20 years of investment management experience and over the years it has laid astrong foundation of diversified offerings cutting-edge digital platforms and has built awidespread distribution network.
I would like to thank our shareholders who have continued to reposetheir faith and trust in us. Their collective stake in the business reflects theincredible opportunity offered by the asset management industry. I would like to thank ourcustomers and distribution partners for being part of a growing savings culture in India.We will remain focused on driving awareness and deepening the mutual fund penetrationlevels in the country.
Finally I salute all the employees of HDFC AMC for their resilienceand hard work as it is their efforts that have held the company in good stead. May we allheal and look forward to better times ahead.
Best Regards |
' Deepak S Parekh > ¦ Chairman |