by admin | May 25, 2021 | Opinions
By Christine Nayagam,
The Indian outbound traveller is now a much-coveted commodity around the world, as the country’s booming middle class seeks new destinations and emerges as a key market.
The Indian market has set a new record as 1.17 million tourists visited the US last year, according to Brand USA, the nation’s first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a travel destination.
“Brand USA has reached the million visitor mark from India, we expect much more growth. This year has seen our largest delegation of our Brand USA India mission with nearly 40 organisations, we actually had a waiting list of people wanting to tap the Indian market. And that really shows the importance that India has,” Suzana Shepard, Manager Global Trade Development Brand USA, said during a branding event organized by Brand USA representative Sartha Global Marketing in New Delhi.
In February, Brand USA inaugurated the US-India travel and tourism partnership year in Delhi, led by the US Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO). The NTTO had forecast a 72 per cent increase in arrivals from 2015 through 2021.
While business travelers and family visits have been the norm so far, more Indians travel to less visited states and try new activities involving adventure and thrills.
“Indians are big consumers of adventure activities and this is exactly what we got in Nevada for them. The US is very much a road trip destination and there is so much to see, different landscapes, just like in India I guess but with a different decor, different people and a great melting pot of cultures,” said Claudia Vecchio, Director of the Department of Tourism & Cultural Affairs in Nevada.
According to Brand USA, India ranks 11th in international visitors and also represents the sixth biggest spender with $13.6 billion registered last year.
“There is really a great opportunity, only one per cent of the population has a passport and there is a growing middle class. It leaves room for a lot development,” Shepard said.
The increasing number of direct flights from India by national carrier Air India has also helped in catering to the tourists’ demand, the latest being Delhi-Washington DC. A couple of years ago, Air India also added San Francisco to its other non-stop flights to New York, Chicago and Newark. The carrier is said to be evaluating a direct flight to Los Angeles as well.
“With the non-stop service from India, San Francisco Airport has seen the traffic back and forth to India grow by 10 per cent, said Melissa Andretta, Director of International Marketing at San Francisco International Airport.
“The United States has always been a prime destination for Indian tourists, the country being home to an important Indian diaspora. We are seeing a lot of FITs coming, a lot of Indian weddings celebrated in Washington DC where an important Indian origin population lives. You can even celebrate Indian festivals like Diwali just like you would do in India as the city organises special decorations and festivities,” said Yi Lu, International Sales Manager at Destination DC.
On the recent visa restrictions on Indian travellers to the USA, Shepard said that they had no impact on the tourism to India and that Indians are warmly welcomed by many Americans.
(Christine Nayagam can be reached at c.nayagam@mediaindia.eu)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Reports, Markets, News
Connaught Place
New Delhi : New Delhi’s Connaught Place is the world’s tenth most expensive office location with an annual prime rent of $111 per square feet, a survey by a real estate consulting firm said on Friday.
The survey by CBRE South Asia said the ranking has fallen by one position, moving down to tenth from ninth in March 2017.
According to the CBRE’s “Global Prime Office Rents” report, Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) took 16th position with an annual prime rent of $84.10 per sq ft, while the central business district (CBD) of Nariman Point took 30th place with an annual prime rent of $64.27 per sq ft.
“Connaught Place over the years has emerged as one of the most sought after office spaces in the world where the global and regional head offices of the world’s major companies reside,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman – India and South-East Asia, CBRE.
“In spite of having limited supply of prime office space, its location in the heart of India’s capital, coupled with great infrastructure and connectivity to other parts of the city, makes it to be an ideal location for any business to be in,” he added.
The survey showed that Asia dominated the top ten most expensive markets in the world, with Hong Kong holding two of the top three most expensive office markets.
New York (Midtown Manhattan) and Beijing (CBD) rounded the top five, with Tokyo (Marunouchi/Otemachi), Shanghai (Pudong) and New Delhi (Connaught Place – CBD) featuring in the top ten most expensive list, the report added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, Markets, News
Mumbai : After a day of volatile trading, key Indian equity indices on Friday closed on a flat note — marginally in the green — buoyed by a strong rupee and good buying activities in capital goods stocks.
According to market observers, sentiments continued to remain subdued on the back of prevailing geo-political tensions, coupled with continous outflow of foreign funds and heavy selling pressure in index heavyweights like Dr. Reddy’s Lab, Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, Infosys and Sun Pharma, among others.
The wider 51-scrip Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was up 4.90 points, or 0.05 per cent, to close at 9,934.80 points.
The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE closed at 31,687.52 points — up 24.78 points, or 0.08 per cent.
However, the BSE market breadth was bearish — with 1,539 declines and 1,098 advances.
“Markets ended with marginal gains on Friday as the Nifty continued to consolidate in a range. The main indices drifted lower through the day. A bounce back from the lows of the day in the afternoon helped the indices register marginal gains,” Deepak Jasani, Head – Retail Research, HDFC Securities, told IANS.
“Major Asian markets ended on a mixed note, while European indices like FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 traded lower. Broader market indices fell, thereby underperforming the main indices,” he added.
In terms of broader market indices, the S&P BSE mid-cap index fell by 0.44 per cent and the small-cap index by 0.08 per cent.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said: “The market continued to consolidate amid lack of fresh triggers for a decisive up move. The global uncertainties are not completely out of the wood but the degree of threat is narrowing which will keep the long term outlook intact.”
On the currency front, the Indian rupee strengthened by 26 paise to 63.79 against the US dollar from its previous close at 64.05.
“Markets edged higher on Friday as metal shares continued to rally on the back of higher commodity prices, but indices were set to snap a three-week winning streak amid continued caution about global risk factors such as North Korea,” Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS.
“The pharma and realty stocks were the top losers, while the S&P BSE capital goods index gained most and was up 1.60 per cent,” Desai added.
Sector-wise, the S&P BSE capital goods index rose by 325.72 points, FMCG index by 46.56 points and industrials index by 25.01 points.
On the other hand, the S&P BSE healthcare index fell by 122.38 points, automobile index by 121.88 points, and oil and gas index by 86.56 points.
Major Sensex gainers on Friday were: Larsen and Toubro, up 4.07 per cent at Rs 1,172.30; Bharti Airtel, up 1.45 per cent at Rs 403.20; Kotak Bank, up 1.22 per cent at Rs 1,007.60; HDFC Bank, up 0.98 per cent at Rs 1,788; and ITC, up 0.78 per cent at Rs 272.45.
Major Sensex losers were: M&M, down 3.29 per cent at Rs 1,294.70; Dr. Reddy’s Lab, down 2.93 per cent at Rs 2,158.80; Sun Pharma, down 1.87 per cent at Rs 471.05; Bajaj Auto, down 1.76 per cent at Rs 2,913.85; and Infosys, down 1.25 per cent at Rs 884.40.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Economy, Markets, News
Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa
New Delhi : The financial vulnerabilities of the stock markets resulting in manipulation and perversity needs to be checked in order to promote fair and ethical trading practices, Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa said on Monday.
“There is dilemma between what technology and manual trading can provide. Increase of algorithm trading should not prevent people from participating in the stock market,” Lavasa said here at a seminar on ‘Policy and Regulatory Framework for Algorithm/High Frequency Trading in India’.
“Manipulation, perversity in market needs to be dealt with. Financial vulnerabilities are to be dealt with,” he said.
Lavasa said that the Indian stock market has matured and is hailed as one of the most powerful in the world.
“As we move forward, we are talking of more equity. So, it needs to be regulated and managed in a transparent way. It should have reliable infrastructure to involve more and more participants,” he added.
Algorithm and high speed trading are two crucial factors of stock exchange trading.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Banking, Economy, Markets, News
Mumbai : Key Indian equity indices — the NSE Nifty50 and the BSE Sensex — opened on a higher note during the early morning trade session on Monday with healthy buying witnessed in IT and banking stocks.
Around 9.19 a.m., the wider 51-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) traded at 9,905.35 points — up 48.30 points or 0.49 per cent.
The 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 31,756.87 points, traded at 31,747.10 points — up 151.04 points or 0.48 per cent from Thursday’s close at 31,596.06 points.
The Sensex has so far touched a high of 31,775.06 points and a low of 31,734.64 points during the intra-day trade.
The BSE market breadth was bullish with 843 advances and 293 declines.
On Thursday, the benchmark indices closed on a flat-to-positive note as short covering in healthcare stocks, coupled with positive European markets and a strong rupee, kept investors’ sentiments afloat.
The Nifty closed fractionally higher by 4.55 points or 0.05 per cent at 9,857.05 points, while the Sensex closed at 31,596.06 points — up 28.05 points or 0.09 per cent.
The Indian equity markets were closed on Friday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.
—IANS
