BUY APOLLO HOSPITALS

Healthcare is one of the most underdeveloped sectors in India with a lot of growth potential. There are few large corporate players in this highly fragmented and unorganised market. Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (AHE) is the largest player in the tertiary care segment with the single largest network of integrated hospitals and pharmacies in the country.

While the Sensex has lost more than 50% of its value in the last one year, the company's market capitalisation declined by just 15% during the same period. The stock has appreciated by 26% since October '08 till date. Investors can look at this stock expecting sound growth in its fairly recession-proof business.

BUSINESS:

Chennai-based AHE is a national level operator of hospitals, retail pharmacies and provider of consultancy services in healthcare management. Nearly 83% of the company's revenues are contributed by its hospitals business, while 16% is contributed by pharmacy.

The company owns 26 hospitals and manages 17 hospitals on a contractual basis. Majority of its hospitals are in metros and tier I cities in the country. The total bed capacity is 8,500 beds, with 4,500 beds in AHE's owned hospitals. The revenue per bed per day ranges from Rs 8,000 to Rs 17,000, depending on the location of the hospital. The average length of stay has largely remained the same for the company at an average of 5.7 to 5.9 days across its various hospitals.

AHE runs a chain of 785 standalone pharmacies in the country on a franchise basis. It has 40 pharmacies operating as part of its hospitals. The company also provides various precommissioning and postcommissioning consultancy services comprising of feasibility studies, infrastructure consultation, training and deployment of medical, paramedical and administrative staff and advising on hospital management.

AHE also has other subsidiary businesses providing home healthcare services, clinical and diagnostic services, medical business process outsourcing services, third party administration services and insurance.

GROWTH STRATEGY:

The company's growth has been primarily driven by its hospitals business. The company has a high occupancy rate of 80%, with 7-8 % more head room to grow. There is also still scope for increasing the tariff.

The company is in the process of expanding capacities in its greenfield projects. By FY10, it intends to add a total capacity of 500 beds in its hospitals at Bhubaneshwar and Vizag. Over the next five years, the company has plans to start 50 hospitals in tier II and III towns in partnership with a local doctors or entrepreneurs.

AHE's pharmacy business is relatively nascent and still in investment stage. The company intends to set up 1,000 pharmacies by FY10.
In the coming years, the company expects to increase its exposure to the pharmacy business to 20-25 % of the total revenues. The company has plans to eventually hive off its pharmacy business to a strategic partner.

The company has incurred a capex of Rs 157 crore in FY08. It has planned a capex of Rs 900 crore to be incurred over the next three years.

FINANCIALS:

The company's net sales have grown at a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of 21% over five years ended March 2008 to Rs 1,214.7 crore. The net profit (adjusted for the extraordinary items) has grown at a faster CAGR of 26.6% to Rs 71.8 crore. At 24.3%, the CAGR in the company's dividend has fairly matched the corresponding growth in profits.

While the hospital business has EBIDTA margins of 28-40 %, the pharmacy business is a low margin business with a EBIDTA margin of 8-10 %.
Besides, a new pharmacy requires 12-18 months to mature and contribute to profits. Due to the company's recent expansion of its pharmacy business, its profit margins and return on capital employed have suffered in the last three years.

The company has raised secured loans and has made significant investments in fixed assets during the last three years. The company expects to breakeven in the pharmacy business by FY10 and expects stability in the returns from the business.

VALUATIONS:

Being the largest listed healthcare player, AHE commands a premium over its peers. It is currently trading
at 25 times its earnings. Assuming the company maintains its growth in sales of more than 20%, its estimated P/E for FY09 and FY10 would be 23.4 and 18.7 respectively. Investors interested in steady and predictable earning growth can look at accumulating this stock with a long-term perspective.



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M & M

Motilal Oswal maintains its 'Buy' rating on Mahindra & Mahindra. M&M had earlier mentioned in its post-2 QFY09 results that it would be reviewing the Rs7,000-crore capex plan over FY09-12 for a possible reduction . After a review of the capex plans, management has now decided to go ahead with the original capex plan of Rs 7,000 crore without any cuts. Out of the Rs 7,000 crore over FY09-12 , Rs 5,000 crore will be invested in the automotive business and Rs 2,000 crore in the non-auto business. In auto business, investment will be made in the Chakan plant (~ Rs2,500 crore), product development (Rs 2,000 crore for Xylo, Scorpio's successor, light transport vehicles and lobal product) and further equity contribution in Mahindra Navistar JV (Rs 350 crore). In the non-auto business, it is investing Rs 500 crore in tractors business, Rs 700 crore in logistics business and defence business and Rs 750 crore for setting up world-class research facility at Chennai. Motilal Oswal has downgraded the consolidated earnings estimates by 11.7% for FY09 to Rs 58.7 and by 12.9% for FY10 to Rs 70.6, to factor in lower volumes and downgrade in subsidiary / associate earnings. Notwithstanding short-term challenges, valuations at 4.6x FY09E and 3.9x FY10E consolidated EPS are attractive.
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GUJARAT STATE PETRONET

Gujarat State Petronet went public on 24th January 2006, with a public issue of 13.80 crore equity shares of Rs.10 each, at Rs.27 per share. Its 52 week high low were at Rs.114 and Rs.25 and is now ruling at Rs.41 levels.



The stock has been in the news for the last one month as huge delivery based buying has been seen in the stock. Share has risen by about 64% in the last one month, from Rs.25 on 10-12-08, which was also its 52 week low.



The company is the second largest natural gas transmission network in India and is the first and only pure natural gas transmission company in India, to transport natural gas on an “open access,” means, company making available its gas transmission capacity available to any shipper on non-discriminating basis.



The company presently has grid pipe network of 1,130 kms. which is being expanded to 2,200 kms. in the next 18 months. The company is presently transporting about 17 mmscmd of gas while in FY 08 transported 6,145 mmscm of gas. In first 6 months of FY 09, it transported 3,069 mmscm of gas. There is no overlapping pipeline network along the route of the company’s pipeline network.



The company has also signed a 15 year agreement with Reliance Industries Ltd., to transport 11 mmscmd (expandable to 14 mmscmd) of gas from Bharuch to Jamnagar and also with Torrent Power, of 20 years, to transport 4.5 mmscmd of gas. Both these contracts would be operational in the next 3 – 4 months, with commencement of gas production, by RIL, from its K G Basin. Hence, the company would be able to double its topline and bottomline.



For FY 08 the total income of company was at Rs.447 crores with net profit of Rs.100 crores and cash profit of Rs.265 crores on equity of Rs.562 crores. EPS for FY 08 was placed at Re.1.81 while cash EPS was at Rs.4.70. For first six months of FY 09, total income of the company was at R.252 crores with profit after tax of Rs.61 crores with cash profit of Rs.145 crores.



The company has been able to source gas upto points of Mundra Port and Pipavav Port and are connected to supply to Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Surendranagar, Sabarkantha, Kalol, Mehasana, Morbi, Vapi and Valsad.



The share capital of the company is at Rs.562 crores, of which, 37.77% is held by its promoters, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd., while 35.91% is held by Banks, Mutual Funds, FIIs and state government companies. 26.32% stake is held by the public.



It is strange to see that Gujarat Maritime Board is holding 6.60%, Gujarat Urja 2.02%, GNFC 1.42% and GIDC 1.42% (totaling 11.46%( but the same has not been shown as promoters holding). So, in reality, Gujarat Govt is having a direct – indirect stake of close to 50%.



The controversy in respect to sharing 30% profit before tax of the company, for charity is also likely to be given re-thinking by the Gujarat Govt., as the similar proposal has been defeated by the shareholders of Guj. Alkalies and GNFC, where government stake is less than 50%,. So, if this company also drops this proposal, stock would get further re-rating.



Due to bright prospects of gas transportation sector, in Gujarat, the stock holds good growth potential as the company would be able to double its topline and bottomline in the next 6 months with its existing infrastructure and network.


Those who are holding the stock are advised to remain invested as stock has good medium term potential.

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Hold Larsen and Toubro: Sharekhan

Sharekhan has recommended a hold rating on Larsen and Toubro (L&T) in its January 9, 2009 research report. "L&T Capital, a subsidiary of Larsen and Toubro (L&T), has raised its stake in Satyam Computer Services (Satyam) to about 3.95%. The shares were acquired in the last couple of weeks. We estimate the average acquisition price to be about R157, which takes the estimated buying value to about Rs418 crore. We view the event as a negative, as the transaction has already led to a portfolio loss of Rs 355 crore at the prevailing price of Satyam (Rs 6.1 per share for L&T Capital)."

"At the current market price, the L&T stock is trading at 10.1x its FY2010E consolidated earnings. The valuation is very attractive considering the company’s leadership position, strong order book and excellent execution skills. We recommend a Hold on the stock and are placing our price target under review," says Sharekhan's research report.
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Sun Pharma an outperformer: Karvy

Karvy Stock Broking has maintained its outperformer rating on Sun Pharmaceutical Industries with a target price of Rs 1300 in its January 12, 2009 research report. "Margins are expected to lower at 42.3 % as compared to 44.1 % in the corresponding quarter in the previous year. PAT is likely to be higher by 39% to Rs 4424 million for the quarter. We have factored the USD 24.5 mn revenue upside from the controlled substances in FY 2010. We marginally upgrade our FY 2010 EPS by 1.3 % to Rs 78.2. We upgrade our price target by 4.3% to Rs 1,300 based on 16.6x FY 2010E. With increasing traction in US markets and domestic formulations on a strong wicket we maintain our Outperformer rating on the stock," says Karvy's research report.
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Hold Hero Honda, target of Rs 851: Asit C. Mehta

Asit C. Mehta has recommended a hold rating on Hero Honda Motors with a target price of Rs 851 in its January 9, 2009 research report. "Considering a slowdown in the domestic two wheeler industry in FY10E, we expect Hero Honda Motors Ltd.’s revenues to grow at a CAGR of 11% over the period FY08 -FY10E, compared to a CAGR of 12% over the period FY05-FY08. Taking into account the decline in raw material prices and lower tax rates, net profit is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15% over the same period."

"We value the core earnings of the company and investments plus cash balances separately, as investment plus cash balances are significant portion of the total capital employed. We initiate coverage on Hero Honda Motors Ltd. with a “HOLD” recommendation and a price target of Rs. 851. Our target price implies a 13x multiple on core earnings (i.e. excluding other income) of Rs 53.4 in FY10E and cash per share of Rs 157," says Asit C. Mehta's research report
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Larsen a good long term bet: Vijay

Portfolio Manager, PN Vijay feels that Larsen can be a pretty good long term bet in the next 12 months.

Vijay told CNBC-TV18, "L&T looks very interesting because the speed with which the government is planning to increase the orders of the NHAI, the highway program was ordering about 5,000kms a year it has come down very drastically in the last two years because of lack of financial closure and I think L&T being a big player in that, suffered. But with the new funding that is taking place, L&T will get a lot of new projects
and it’s also fallen a lot because of the Satyam affair. So this could be a pretty good long term bet in the next 12 months or so."
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Buy Canara Bank, target of Rs 278: Karvy

Karvy Stock Broking has recommended a buy rating on Canara Bank with a target price of Rs 278 in its January 12, 2009 research report. "In 3QFY09, we expect the bank total business to grow by 23.7% (Y/Y) on the back of 28.3% growth in net advances and 20.5% growth in total deposits mobilization. We rate the stock as a BUY with a price target of Rs 278 at 1.25x adjusted book value FY2010," says Karvy's research report.
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Hold Mastek: PINC Research

PINC Research has maintained its hold rating on Mastek in its January 12, 2009 research report. "Mastek Ltd. (Mastek) reported a disappointing quarter as net sales dipped by 2.6% QoQ to Rs 2.5 billion primarily due to cross currency headwinds and client pressures. Mastek’s business model remains superior to that of most mid tier peers due to its focus on solution based fixed price offerings but a deteriorating economic environment continues to impart pressure on client spends and this has disrupted near term visibility over revenues. Though valuations appear cheap, an outlook of single digit earnings growth does not make a case for a re-rating in the stock. Therefore, we maintain our ‘HOLD’ recommendation," says PINC's research report.
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Buy City Union Bank, target of Rs 31: Karvy

Karvy Stock Broking has recommended a buy rating on City Union Bank with a target price of Rs 31 in its January 12, 2009 research report. "In 3QFY09, we expect that the bank's net advances would grow by 29% (Y/Y) to Rs 51.6 billion and deposits would grow by 20% (Y/Y) to Rs 76 billion; we expect that the bank's NII would grow by 13% (Y/Y) to Rs 558 million; the bank's margin is expected to be under pressure due to higher costs of deposits. We estimate 21% (Y/Y) growth in bottomline to Rs 308 million. At current price, the stock quotes at 0.65x adjusted book value FY2010; we rate the stock as a BUY with a price target of Rs 31 at 1.45x adjusted book value FY2010," says Karvy's research report.
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Buy Petronet LNG, target of Rs 63: Karvy

Karvy Stock Broking has maintained its buy rating on Petronet LNG Ltd with a target of Rs 63 in its January 12, 2009 research report. "For FY09, we expect the revenue growth of 9.8% to Rs 71,948 million and adjusted profit to rise by 11.9% to Rs 5,309 million. We maintain our Buy rating with target price of Rs 63," says Karvy Stock Broking's research report.
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Buy Pennar Industries, target of Rs 33: Karvy

Karvy Stock Broking has upgraded its rating on Pennar Industries from market performer to buy with a target of Rs 33 in its January 12, 2009 research report. "For Q3FY09, we expect Pennar Industries Ltd (PIL) to report net sales growth of 11% (YoY) and de growth of 7% (QoQ) to Rs 1598 million. We expect net profit to be around Rs 87.5 million, 13% lower (YoY) and 3% lower (QoQ)."

"We maintain our sales and earning estimates of PIL for FY09 and FY10. Based on earnings, we value PIL at Rs 30 per share (8x of FY10 EPS). To add to that, value from real estate holding, is estimated to be around Rs 3 per share. Hence we retain our target price of PIL at Rs 33 and upgrade our rating from Market performer to BUY due to recent fall in stock price. Currently, PIL is trading at EBITDA multiple of 6xFY09. Our target price also reflects an EBITDA multiple of 6x on FY10," says Karvy Stock Broking's research report.
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Buy Nitin Fire Prot, target of Rs 239: Karvy

Karvy Stock Broking has maintained its buy rating on Nitin Fire Protection Industries with a target of Rs 239 in its January 12, 2009 research report. "Nitin Fire Protection Industries (NFPIL) is expected to report strong set of numbers on YoY basis on back of its CNG cylinder plant that started operations during FY09. We expect the company to report revenue of Rs 698 million as against Rs 396 million, a strong YoY growth of 76%. However on QoQ basis, we expect a marginal growth of 5%, primarily on back of volume growth in CNG cylinder segment. We expect the company to report revenues of Rs 348 million from the fire fighting segment and Rs 350 million from the seamless cylinder business. We continue to maintain our BUY rating on the stock with the price target of Rs 239," says Karvy Stock Broking's research report.
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DLF a top pick: Motilal Oswal

DLF is Motilal Oswal's top pick in the Real Estate sector. The research firm expects FY09-10 to be a period of consolidation, in which the industry leaders would get differentiated from peers.

Motilal Oswal's report:

In FY08, the focus was on the real estate sector as a ‘theme’, with all real estate stocks moving in tandem. In FY09, the focus has shifted to specific companies within the real estate sector. We expect FY09-10 to be a period of consolidation, in which the industry leaders would get differentiated from peers. We believe developers with staying power would utilize this consolidation phase to emerge stronger. Focus on companies with (1) high visibility on monetization of assets over the next 3-5 years, (2) low leverage and robust financials, and (3) strong execution track record. DLF is our top pick in the Real Estate sector.

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SATYAM FRAUD - RAJU BAN GAYA FRAUD

I go by the Dictam, "THERE IS NEVER ONE COCKROACH IN A KITCHEN". I, for one, there is much more skeleton in the cupboard of Satyam, waiting to tumble down, than has been known till now.
It is shocking that India`s 4th Largest Software Co, having 185 of Fortune 500 companies as its clients has had such big skeletons in its cupboard.
I also suspect whether Balance Sheets can be fudged for seven years in a row. Probably, Satyam`s fudging has been very recent. A popular saying that captures the process of accounting fraud of the kind Satyam has likely engaged in is, “You have to say a hundred lies to cover the first lie,”

GOVT SHOULD STEP IN :
There is always a first time. Sure, Indian Govt does not enter into the nitty-gritty of merger and acquistions, but Satyam`s case is different. This scam, to me, is Bigger than What Enron did to US. The Whole World Media will be jumping at the prospect of painting Black the Indian Corporate Governance Picture and would not hesitate to add some spice too. And moreover, World Economy in a Tailspin, the Govt should do all it can to prevent the Indian IT Ind getting marginalised, before this has a cascading effect. . Govt can`t just wash its hand off. The Govt should ensure that Satyam`s 53000 employees and innumerable Shareholders are protected.

The damage is not just confined to the IT Ind, alone but also on India Inc`s credibility. The Govt should get to the bottom of this without even a bit of favouritism .


MY SUSPICION :
The First thing that any Auditor does, is to check the Cash and Bank Balance, as this is very easy to verify. In all probability Satyam did have money on the books till the last audit. (Satyam paid 226 crores as Tax). I wonder whether Satyam liquidated the bank accounts and started holding cash reserves. Probably, First Raju tried to take out money through Maytas deal. When his move back fired, and he started losing even his stake in Satyam, he decided to decamp with entire cash saying that the Cash were on account of fudged balance sheet and there is no Cash at all. Raju family is diverting the attention of law agencies by alleging fudging.
A Bigger Fraud is happening now!!!
By the way, PWC should be BANNED, financial penalty levied and its auditors Jailed.
HOPEFULLY, NARAYANA MURTHY IS RIGHT WHEN HE SAYS THAT THIS IS JUST A ISOLATED CASE AND A FAILURE OF GOVERANCE. For years, IT Cos (TCS, Infy, Wipro) have prided themselves on their Corporate Governance. One Satyam,sadly, will surely change this.

God help the Indian IT industry.
Best of luck,
Srikanth Shankar Matrubai



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OPTO CIRCUITS - RECESSION PROOF

Opto Circuits has been a Consistent Performer since its Public Issue in 2000. It has never faltered and has an uncanny knack of delivering good performance quarter after quarter.
Opto Circuit is a leading manufacturer of medical equipments like digital thermometers, cholesterol monitors, cardiac stents etc. The company came out with excellent results for September quarter with its revenues growing by more than 75% from around Rs 125 crore to Rs 217 crore and net profits have also grown by 66% from around Rs 34 crore to Rs 57 crore. The company has been able to expand its EBITDA margins also by 230 bps points on the back of strong operational efficiency and integration synergies.

In the recent past, the company had acquired two companies namely Eurocor of Germany and Criticare in US and both these acquisitions have given the company tremendous advantage to reach different geographical areas and beat the global slowdown with its diversified product basket.
Over the past few years, Opto has created strategic and shareholder-value by focusing on inorganic opportunity for growth, be it in the Advanced Micronic Devices acquisition in ’01, Palco Labs and the thermometer division of HUL in ’02, Mediaid in ’03, EuroCor in ’05, or the recent Criticare Systems acquisition in ’08. This shows the management’s focus on value creation.
The management in a recent outlook to Leading Brokerage said "Invasive segment to continue to grow at 100% for the next couple of years despite global economic slowdown; the business is fairly insulated from global economic slowdown because OCIL primarily operates in the critical care industry; non-invasive business to remain solid and growing led by new products launches; criticare provides significant growth opportunities in the US markets and is expected to generate revenues of US45-50mn in FY09 with significant margin improvement."


COMMENTS :
Opto operates in a High Margin Business.
Opto is in a Recession Proof Business.
Opto continues to face very little new competiiton.
Opto continues to grow aggressively through acquistions.
Opto will benefit from Falling Interest Rates as it requires High Working Capital Requirement.
Opto has a strong Distribution Network across 36 countries.

Opto Circuits has been one of those Rare Companies who believe in Distributing Wealth to its Shareholders. It has given Bonus and Dividend for last 8 year consective years.
After the recent correction in stock price, the valuations offer a good buying opportunity. Opto has traded at a premium to the market due to high growth, healthy margins and upside from potential acquisitions. But with the recent market fall and overhang of large ownership by FIIs, the stock price has corrected more than warranted , making it more attractive. BUY

TARGETS :
Vikas Sethi, MD of Sethi Finmart is of the view that Opto Circuit can touch Rs.250
Kotak Securities has maintained its Buy rating on Opto Circuits with a target price of Rs 212.
Emkay Global Financial Services has maintained its buy rating on Opto Circuits with a target price of Rs 432.
India Infoline maintained a BUY on Opto in its August 2008 Report with a Price Target of Rs.509.
Sharekhan has a target of 453 in its Dec 2008 report.

Finally, it would be apt to recall OPTO CIRCUITS had made it to the list of FORBES list of 200 Top companies under $1billion in Asia.

Most brokerages have an average EPS estimation for Opto at 15. Even at a conservative PE of 10, the minimum price target should be 150.

Opto Circuits is among my Top Picks for 2009

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Some More Top Picks for 2009

Anup Bagchi, Executive Director, ICICI Securities, said infrastructure will tend to do well. Places like NTPC, etc. will tend to do well. On the defensive plays, some of the pharma will do well, Glenmark is one of our top picks and one can play on the FMCG stocks as well the HLL, etc. will do well because the input prices are correcting sharply and that will lead to increase in margins.
India Infoline feels that Reliance will be elevated to top Global League and were bullish on the stock. Besides, Reliance, India Infoline felt that SBI, ITC, Bharti Airtel and RCom should outperform in 2009.
Religare feels that Reliance, BHEL, Tata Steel, DLF and L&T should do well.

Besides Banking Stocks, Angel Broking is bullish on Reliance, Bharti and RCom.
ICICI Securities top picks are SBI, L&T, NTPC, Maruti and Bharti Airtel.

Geojit has chosen Tata Power, Infosys, SBI, HDFC and ICICI Bank as its pick for 2009.

Khandwala Securities is very bullish on the Sensex and expects a high of 15975 for the Sensex in 2009 and feel Reliance, Tata Steel RCom, ICICI and JP Associates should be bought at every declines.

Centrum Broking has picked up Hindustan Unilever besides Airtel, Infosys, LT, ICICI.

Most brokerages seem to believe that Reliace Industries and Bharti Airtel should outperform the Sensex in 2009 and should form part of every investor portfolio.
Best of luck,
Srikanth Shankar Matrubai,


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Top Stock Picks for 2009 by Experts

I have picked from various sources the top Picks By Experts for 2009 for your benefit. Go through them, it may be useful to you.

Ambareesh Baliga of Karvy Stock Broking says Stock-specific, we would say it’s NTPC, BHEL, L&T, Infy, SBI and P&B. In infrastructure, it’s GMR and Punj Lloyd.

Samir Arora of Helios Capital advises investors to have a 15-20% exposure to gold, as the yellow metal will do well in next 1-2 years.



He is bullish on financials, infrastructure, select media and broking stocks. "We don't like commodities, pharma, consumer staples, and technology.".

Outlook Money has chosen Bank of India, Titan Inds, HDFC Bank, KS Oils, Mphasis, Bharti Airtel, Indraprasta Gas and Emami.

Angel Broking's top picks are HDFC Bank and Axis Bank.

Nirmal Bang is bullish on GEShipping, JPAssociate, Moser-Baer and SBI. Nirmal Bang also felt Stock specific counters like: GEShipping, SCI, Ster, TataSteel and Welspun Gujarat looks attractive to buy on dip.

KRChoksey Research's top picks are Reliance Industries, State Bank of India (SBI), Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), Bharat Electronics (BEL), BEML, Bharat Forge, Tata Steel, Glenmark Pharma, Mundra Port, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Zinc.

Prabhudas Lilladher's top picks are Hero Honda, Amtek India, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Crompton Greaves, Voltas, Jyoti Structures, IVRCL, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Chemicals, HDFC, Sun TV, IBN18 Broadcast, Aban Offshore, Bharati Shipyard, GAIL, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Dishman Pharma, Lupin, Jindal Steel & Power, Reliance Communication, Tulip Telecom, Bombay Rayon Fashions, XL Telecom & Energy, Country Club, Parekh Aluminex.

According to Anagram Research's report, be invested in upstream crude companies and buy more if the commodity dips to newer 2009 lows, (which obviously means Stocks like Reliance Petroleum, Chennai Petro, MRPL, Cairn).
UBS AG in its Top 10 Picks for Asia has picked up only one stock from India and that stock is not suprisingly is Bharti Airtel Ltd!!

Financial Chronicle has picked Sun Pharma, Glaxo, Exide, GSPL, HDIL, AIA Engg, IVRCL and Everest Kanto as its top picks for the year 2009.

In an article, Money Today picked up AIA Engg, Cairn India, MTNL, NMDC, PTC, Biocon, MIC Electronics, Champagne Indage, Raymond and Gitanjali Gems as its top picks for 2009 based on the Low Debt levels and trading below Book Value.

Sharekhan's Top Picks are Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd, LUPIN LTD, Housing Development Finance Corp.Ltd, ITC Ltd, Maruti Udyog Ltd, Shiv Vani Universal Ltd, Marico Ltd, Hindustan Lever Ltd, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Aban Offshore Ltd.

Well, the list is exhaustive and should be enough for you to make a shortlist on what to buy. I have not given my own picks as I am still doing some more research on few stocks and will be posting my own in a few days. Keep visiting my blog and find out. Your comments will be highly appreciated and your Top Picks will also help me and other readers to make a final decision.
Best of luck,
Srikanth shankar Matrubai


Also visit my other blogs namely
http://goodfundadvisor.blogspot.com/
http://goodtravelplanner.blogspot.com/
http://indiahotelstariff.blogspot.com/

INDIA WILL BOUNCE BACK

Read my Article in Today's(1/1/2009) Financial Chronicle on Page 12 on "INDIA WILL BOUNCE BACK"

BOUNCING back ¦ AS AN investor and a financial advisor, I am relieved to see the year 2008 being consigned to history. It was a year in which the financial crisis held the entire world in its grip. Equity markets crashed in nearly every country, while most financial institutions across the world were looking up to their respective governments to bail them out of the mess. Though India escaped relatively unhurt from the financial market turmoil, it was badly hit by the slowdown in the commodities market and real estate. Besides, the US recession badly affected the country's information technology (IT) sector. The outlook for 2009 is not too rosy either. With general elections due in April/May, we cannot expect the government to be aggressive on the reform front. The strong dollar is holding back the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) from pumping money in Indian markets. The continuing global recession will be a dampener on the inflows. The key takeaway, however, is that India will see growth when the world continues to be in a fullblown recession.




Thankfully, there is good news too. Falling crude prices will ease the pressure a bit on the country's balance of payment.

The government has admitted that the economy is faltering and taking pro-active steps to stem the rot before it gets out of hand. Easing interest rates have made companies breath easy.

The RBI is looking to make the housing sector as attractive as before and this is one sure shot way of igniting the spark back in the economy as most sectors such as cement and steel are directly and indirectly depended on the real estate sector. Giving stimulus to infrastructure would complete the picture and the recovery would be put on the fast track. Experts have diverse opinions but majority are optimistic that by mid-2009, we should be looking at a recovery and an eventual bounce-back by the Indian economy.

Srikanth Shankar Matrubai, Bangalore




Also visit my other blog goodtravelplanner.blogspot.com, http://buycall.blogspot.com and


Also visit my other blogs namely
http://goodfundadvisor.blogspot.com/
http://goodtravelplanner.blogspot.com/
http://indiahotelstariff.blogspot.com/