Digital India with Angus Shillington
08 October 2021
In this episode, I speak with Angus Shillington, Deputy Portfolio Manager at VanEck about India’s digital transformation and what it means for their economy and markets.
Disrupting the Analog Economy
What’s happening in India that has Angus excited? I start the podcast by talking about the phenomenal returns India-equity ETFs have seen over the last year and question whether that’s just about the market’s recovery from a COVID induced sell-off or, if there’s something else investors should be paying attention to.
India has long been a country of massive potential for investors with a very large and young population. Angus talks about the bottlenecks that have hindered India’s full potential and some of the ways the Modi government has sought to improve things like identification, affordability and its intention to crush lack of transparency and corruption. The upshot of this is improved taxation collection ability and real economic activity that then leads to better employment opportunities and better infrastructure.
Digitization is the backbone of these efforts and it spans all sectors of the economy. Angus talks about how Reliance Industries, a large energy company, is transforming itself to meet the communications needs of the country but also how very few existing analog businesses will actually be able to transition to a digital framework. Consider the impact of a massive youthful population, many newly connected to the system via mobile phones and the latest technology. They will become a new group of digital natives that will influence and support new business models that leapfrog over analog legacy systems and processes. As Angus stated during our discussion because of the demographics, the sheer size of the population and “the disruptable analog nature of that economy, the opportunity is incredibly broad”.
Trend or Fad
Listen for Angus’ take on investor activism, central bank digital currencies, skinny jeans, and the metaverse.
Important Disclosure
This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the prospectus of the UCITS and to the KID before making any final investment decisions.
This information originates from VanEck (Europe) GmbH, which has been appointed as distributor of VanEck products in Europe by the Management Company VanEck Asset Management B.V., incorporated under Dutch law and registered with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). VanEck (Europe) GmbH with registered address at Kreuznacher Str. 30, 60486 Frankfurt, Germany, is a financial services provider regulated by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in Germany (BaFin).
The information is intended only to provide general and preliminary information to investors and shall not be construed as investment, legal or tax advice VanEck (Europe) GmbH, VanEck Switzerland AG, VanEck Securities UK Limited and their associated and affiliated companies (together “VanEck”) assume no liability with regards to any investment, divestment or retention decision taken by the investor on the basis of this information. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) but not necessarily those of VanEck. Opinions are current as of the publication date and are subject to change with market conditions. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results. Information provided by third party sources is believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. Brokerage or transaction fees may apply.
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