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Indian M&As valued at $18 B
By agencies
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Friday, 02 December 2005, 20:30 IST
LONDON: The Indian mergers and acquisitions market has more than quadrupled to $18.3 billion this year, as companies seek to capitalize on Indias long running economic boom, a London based daily reported.
A total of 872 Indian companies merged or were taken over this year till November 30, compared with 565 deals worth $4.5 billion in the same period in 2004, The Times reported, quoting research agency Thomson Financial.
The rising M&A activity in India forms a part of a wider economic boom, which has seen its 30 share benchmark stock market index (Sensex) nearly triple from 3,300 in March 2003 to 8,788.81 at yesterday's close.
The index, which hit a record 9,033.99 points yesterday before falling back slightly after profit-taking, is likely to rise by as much as 18 percent a year over the next few years, according to the Indian unit of Societe Generale.
Multinational companies and foreign institutional investors are entering India, which recorded an annual increase of 8 percent in its GDP in the three months to October, according to figures published by the paper.
The paper said Indias burgeoning middle classes, who have nearly tripled from 30 million households to 81 million in the past ten years, attract investors.
It also said about half of the countrys population is under 25, many of whom speak English and are well educated, and have provided strength to the outsourcing and manufacturing industry.