Reforms delay may hit investment: Moody's

NEW DELHI: A failure to implement reforms could hamper investment in India amid weak global growth, global ratings agency Moody's Investors Services cautioned on Wednesday.
It is highly unlikely that major reforms would be enacted in the upper house of Parliament where the ruling coalition is in a minority, Moody's said, adding that despite overall supportive domestic conditions for the country's companies, potential headwinds loom from a loss of reform momentum.The Modi administration so far this year has been unable to enact legislation on key reforms, including a unified Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Land Acquisition Bill, it said. The government hopes to get the GST Constitution Amendment bill approved in Parliament and is keen to push the legislative business. It has reached out to the opposition parties to forge a consensus and ensure the passage of the crucial GST bill. The government has identified implementation of GST as a key reform initiative.
Moody's Investors Service says that most non-financial corporates in India (Baa3 positive) will benefit from strong domestic growth and accommodative monetary policy, although weak global growth and a potential US rate hike will weigh on businesses. "Healthy 7.5% GDP growth for FY17 and a pick-up in manufacturing activity will be broadly supportive of business growth," says Vikas Halan, a vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's. "However, the corporates remain vulnerable to the volatile Indian rupee as against the US dollar and to low commodity prices, which has in turn led to a sharp decline in external trade," said Halan, while releasing the agency's 2016 outlook presentation for Indian non-financial corporates.
The fall in commodity prices has benefited many Indian corporates given the country's status as a net importer of raw materials and its recent history of high inflation. The moderating inflation should result in lowering of borrowing costs for corporates and yields on corporate bonds, said Moody's.
The ratings agency expects upstream oil and gas companies to benefit from lower fuel subsidy burdens, although low crude and domestic natural gas prices will continue to hurt profitability.
Refining and marketing companies meanwhile should benefit from healthy margins as demand growth outpaces expected capacity additions.
The agency's negative outlook for the steel industry reflects elevated leverage and an extended period of low prices due to continuing steel imports, while the negative outlook for metals and mining companies reflects bleak global commodity prices.
In the real estate sector, the agency expects demand to improve in 2016 on the back of lower interests rates, although approval delays could push back project launches for property developers.
In the auto sector, it expects retail sales volumes to grow 6% in 2016 on the back of sustained growth in passenger vehicles sales and a recovery in commercial vehicle sales.
The telecom companies that the agency rates in India have reported improving revenue per user (ARPU) and EBITDA margins, however competition remains intense and the regulatory framework continues to evolve.