Fund managers position December portfolio on private capex revival

Fund managers continue to bet on a private sector capex revival in the coming year, as the BJP’s strong show in the state elections in December has reduced political uncertainty and raised hopes of policy continuity.

According to the recent data published by project-tracking database research fi rm Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a total of `2.1 lakh crore worth of new projects have been announced in India in the December quarter.

This is 15% higher than the value of new projects announced by India Inc. in the September quarter. Analysts estimate that growth in private sector capex will also result in strong credit growth.

They estimate a compounded annual growth rate of 15.5% in loans largely fuelled by the retail segment and revival in the corporate segment. Fund managers bought stocks in sectors like capital goods, metals and mid-sized banks, which will likely benefit as a revival in private sector capex takes place in December.

They made fresh purchases in stocks like BHEL, Inox Wind, Bank of India, Indian Bank, IDFC First Bank, SAIL and Usha Martin in their December equity portfolios.