Yesterday I was sitting in my favorite Indian restaurant. I don't get to go there often
since we've moved all the way out to the farm. They have the best paneer masala...
Now, I haven't had the chance to try
it in India, mind you. Taipan has not sent me there
yet. But I've been watching as stories about India pop up all over the place.
I might have to talk our executive
publisher into letting me take one more trip...
It was actually a census update
published on Time.com that grabbed my interest. The article said, "India
will be the most populous nation [in 2050], surpassing China sometime around
2025."
I see an interesting investment
trend... one that can be exploited for the next 20 years.
India's population could soar to 1.656
billion by the year 2050.
Those people will need a lot more food
and energy. Commodities are one of the best places to look for an investment opportunity in India.
Last Wednesday, Russia's Gazprom
signed a 25-year agreement to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Indian
Oil Corporation, Ltd. It's the fourth agreement Gazprom signed with Indian
companies this year.
These deals could be worth more than
$90 billion, and that's just for starters.
There's talk of a sovereign wealth
fund (SWF) to help finance energy deals. Folks are worried India is falling
behind China as it builds its foreign energy supplies, particularly in places
like Africa.
Not everyone in the Indian government
wants an SWF. That's why the idea is still in the proposal stages. It's a
real possibility, though.
We can take advantage of the idea
India needs energy supplies.
One of the most profitable areas of
the energy sector will be nuclear power. According to BBC News,
India's nuclear power market is estimated to be around $150 billion.
That market is now open to investors.
India's lower house of parliament passed a law last year that opens the door
for private investments in the nuclear market.
India's going to need all the help it
can get. It has an ambitious plan to build 30 nuclear plants in the next 30
years. Nine countries signed deals with India to help build its nuclear power
market.
This is going to be a big area of
investment, and a long-term trend to keep coming back to.
Another area we should look at is
consumer spending.
India's middle class is growing, and
they like to spend their money.
Ford (F:NYSE) has a
second Indian production plant in the works. The plant will cost $1 billion
and create 5,000 jobs. Production could start in 2014. Ford sold more than
95,000 cars in India between April 1, 2010, and May 31, 2011.
Not bad for one plant...
Unilever, plc
(UL:NYSE) makes
consumer goods. It is already a powerful company in India. Now it's looking
to media and technology. Almost half of India's citizens are under 25 years
old. There is huge potential in India's youth population.
Unilever could make big investments in
things like information technology and brand promotion.
India's population isn't supposed to
jump ahead of China's until 2025, but companies are already getting a head
start in this growing country.
The BBC's Soutik
Biswas says that India has more than 800 million
telephone subscribers and produces more than 3 million passenger cars.
Domestic air travel is six times higher now than 20 years ago.
I see India as a kind of safety bunker
against the U.S.'s crushing money crisis... And I'm not the only
one.
An interesting report from India's
Table Tennis Federation (via Reuters):
Table Tennis Federation of India
(TTFI) officials were rather bemused when the Swedish coach they recently
approached demanded payment in Indian currency and not in American dollars.
Anders Johansson's argument was the
dollar had been losing steadily to the Swedish crown and the steadier Indian
rupee was a better option.
This reminds us of when that Brazilian
supermodel wanted to be paid in euros back in 2007.
The U.S. dollar has fallen almost 10%
against Sweden's krona in the past year. India's rupee has lost less than 7%
against the krona.
This is just another example of how shaky
the U.S. economy is. When Swedish ping-pong coaches
won't take dollars, we know we're in trouble.
India is just one of the safety
bunkers I'm researching for this year's conference in Las Vegas.
The money crisis won't wipe out
trillions of dollars. The money will just change hands. And that means you
can be ready to take advantage of this transfer of wealth...
If you know
where it's headed.
Sara Nunnally
Taipan Publishing Group
Article
brought to you by Taipan Publishing Group. Additional valuable content can be
syndicated via their News RSS feed. www.taipanpublishinggroup.com.
Article
originally published here
|