India's huge economic and industrial potential has been hampered for many years by a combination of major inadequacies in transport networks, electricity production & distribution, water supplies, and by government failure to deal effectively with these and other vital business issues, such as massive amounts of red tape. The general election of May 2014 brought to power a government perceived as likely to vigorously tackle these problems.

I will be displaying (alphabetically) the charts of UK-listed stocks with strong India exposure (regardless of current share performance). Please let me know which others you think I should show, including India-related stocks on other exchanges.

By all means post a link to the appropriate discussion thread for particular India related stocks - or discuss them here.

FUNDS: I included a chart for Jupiter India Fund (JII), with the intention of adding and charts for other India-related funds - but there are too many! So for now I include this link to a clickable list of them all: trustnet.com, India
If there are any amongst them that you consider deserve particular attention, please post.

With OPG interim results due soon, and its share price this morning looking strong, a reminder of what the company told us in August, including specific references to the quarter we are in and to November in particular:


"...300MW Gujarat - both 150MW units - equipment assembly complete, testing ongoing, commissioning trials can commence in the next quarter - transmission lines in progress
The construction of Gujarat's Unit A (150 MW) and Unit B (150 MW) has been completed and with equipment testing now ongoing, commissioning trials for Unit A are expected to commence in November 2014 and Unit B to follow thereafter by December 2014.

Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited ("GETCO") is constructing a new multi circuit transmission line to facilitate evacuation of power from both units and have now informed us that the line is expected to be completed by March 2015. We are assisting them with certain construction activities on the line. In the meantime GETCO have told us they are making available to us an alternative double circuit transmission line, the construction of which is already nearing completion. Accordingly, with our plant now ready to move into commissioning trials as scheduled, we are intending to perform a phased commencement of commercial operations from November 2014 as GETCO progressively make the required transmission infrastructure available to us.

180MW Chennai IV - hydraulic testing completed and early phase of equipment trials started
Hydraulic testing of this new unit was successfully completed in June 2014 and assembly of the turbine and generator is underway. OPG has now moved into the first phase of equipment trials and commissioning trials are expected to commence by November 2014. Chennai IV shares significant infrastructure with the other units at the same location and power sales are expected to be similarly mixed between the state and industrial and commercial customers on flexible or short term arrangements.

Outlook
Following the election of a new Government, the Indian macro environment appears to have accelerated towards a recovery phase. In its first few weeks, the new Government seems to have put the importance of the power sector beyond doubt in terms of it being a basic need for all citizens but also for its importance in re-establishing economic growth. Early signs of some positive momentum to make the sector more attractive for investment have come through in the recent Budget. Accordingly, the long term commercial dynamics of the sector remain attractive.

As can be observed from our activities during the quarter, OPG has remained focused on maximising its existing operations and upon delivering on the current project portfolio of 480MW to nearly treble the size of the Group's operating platform. These activities, as well as planning for the next growth phase, continue apace and current trading continues to be in line with expectations..."

Two large Indian companies in the sphere of energy and metalworking are interested in investing in Macedonia. Their managements at meetings with the country’s government delegation in Kolkata and Chennai said Macedonia was offering favourable opportunities for running a business.

OPG Power Group – a company focused on developing and operating power plants in India – is interested in building large thermal power station in Macedonia.

“We are interested in constructing thermal stations and solar plants in Macedonia. Our company is deeply committed to this business in India. The atmosphere is being created by the government by allowing business in Macedonia to be opened very easily and by helping entrepreneurs to develop their business initiatives. These are very positive steps, especially the introduction of a low tax regime. I’m convinced that these measures could encourage many others to run a business and locate their capacities in Macedonia”, said the Managing Director of OPG Power Group, Arvind Gupta.

The second company mulling over the possibility of opening a business in Macedonia is BRG Group in Kolkata. The company, which manufactures steel kitchen products for households, has 15,000 employees in production capacities in all around the world. Its capital is estimated at 980 million dollars.

“We are seriously considering opening several production plants in Macedonia. For this purpose negotiations are under way to realize a brownfield investment in Macedonia. Negotiations are expected to be completed in the coming few months. With respect to other plans, we plan on investing in other plants in Macedonia with active support and assistance from the government,” the company’s CEO Sanjay Bhandari said.

According to him, Macedonia’s location needed to be used as a gateway towards markets in the Balkans and Europe.


http://www.independent.mk/articles/13350/Indian+Companies+Interested+in+Investing+in+Macedonia#sthash.113LYp78.dpuf

(OPG is UK-listed, BRG isn't)

How three UK-listed Indian funds compare over the past 12 months. IGC (green),JII (blue) and NII(red)

- and over the last 5 years:

IMF reckons India to outpace China in 2015-16 and gives reasons:

IMF indicates India 2016

Juzzle - as posted on the Trader's thread earlier :-

Markets zoom as IMF sees India racing past China

i certainly wouldn't buy directly into any indian stocks

however, the indian economy (and general biz confidence) is still looking far from perky, though i'll try for an update of general feel from one of my big transport-related clients there

meanwhile, i looked up JII and was surprised to see that there were <90k trades today

At last, Skil Ports (SPL) have posted something on their website giving a clue as to what they are working towards at Karanja. No realtime progress images, but a nice amimated video see video

i'm pretty bullish about india and have put some JII in my sipp
i don't think i would ever risk buying individual shares

SPL (chart in header) has climbed 85% since bouncing off its 36.5p low in late November. Up 22% so far this week, following latest photos of onsite activity.

OPG Power (OPG) website 2015 calendar indicates a trading update coming in February. After today there are only four days left ...

(See Post No.2 for company info, and chart in header)

And the diary of an Indian politician indicates that she is officiating at the inauguration of OPG's big new power station this Saturday. One of two new power stations that will very significantly increase OPG's electricity production. (The dark grey block on this chart)

Here we go:

Article link

Ahmedabad: OPGS Power Gujarat Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of UK-based OPG Power Ventures Plc, will commission its 300 MW coal-fired power plant on Saturday at Bhadreswar in Kutch district of Gujarat, managing director and chief executive officer Arvind Gupta said in a press conference on Thursday. Work on the project, located in a special economic zone developed by the Adani group in Mundra, started three years ago and around 300 acre land was acquired from private owners in Kutch.

Unusually high volume underscoring today's strong rise in Skil Ports & Logistics (SPL)

Share price has doubled in 14 weeks since bouncing of its alltime low in November.
Seems people are at last convinced that serious progress is happening on site. (ticker SPL)

EDIT: And then it threw away its gains! Local villager protests apparently slowing progress.

Grant Thornton have issued this quarterly appraisal of India stocks.

the last para of same .....

Country outlook
The Indian government announced the Budget for the 2015/2016 financial year on 28 February. Although it contains a number of potentially beneficial policies, including increased spending on infrastructure and significant tax reforms, it fell short of introducing any groundbreaking changes. GDP is forecast to increase by 8% in 2015/16 and by 8.3% in 2016/17, and the fall in oil prices is expected to assist the country's fiscal deficit and balance of payments.

We continue to remain cautiously optimistic about India as we expect the government to provide the political stability and implement the much-needed economic reforms. In time, this should lead to renewed investor confidence in the London markets.

=============

for myself, i hold JII.L in my sipp as for the longer term

Saudi investors targeting India -

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150430242204

IC today looking at two UK-listed energy companies in India, OPG and MYT:

Shares in Indian energy generators OPG Power Ventures (OPG) and Mytrah Energy (MYT) have fallen significantly in the past six months, despite the country's persistent chasm between supply and demand. Wind power generator Mytrah recently said it had suffered this year as a result of a less windy start to the monsoon season, leading to analysts downgrading full-year expectations.

Shares in Mytrah have fallen by a quarter in the past 12 months, while returns on an absolute-return basis are down 82 per cent in the past three years. This is despite poor energy infrastructure resulting in a chronic shortage of power in India. The International Energy Agency has estimated that Indian primary energy demand would more than double between 2013 and 2030 to more than 1,426m tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe).

Mytrah has built nine turbines so far this year, adding 50.2 gigawatts (GW) of power. This brings overall capacity to 578 megawatts (MW). Management expects to enter the 2016 windy season with 743MW of capacity. However, it has come up against one of the main risks of renewable energy this year - the unpredictability of the weather. Analysts at Investec Securities downgraded their forecasts for this year's cash profits by more than a quarter to €67m (£47m).

While shares in OPG Power Ventures have fallen back over the past year, the electricity provider has generated an 82 per cent increase in returns on a total return basis. In October, its Chennai plant entered into three-year, agreed volume contracts directly with industrial customers for 257MW of capacity. Industrial contracts - which are longer than the nationwide average - now represent 62 per cent of sales for this plant.

While the Indian government has submitted proposals to tackle climate change rather than cut emissions in absolute terms, it has opted to cut emissions intensity - the amount of carbon pollution per unit of gross domestic product - by around a third by 2030 from 2005 levels. This means coal will continue to play an important part in India's energy mix and so be beneficial for OPG.

IC VIEW:
Mytrah's heavy debt - $519m (£341m) compared with a market cap of £125 at the end of June - is a concern and the shares are on 45 times Bloomberg consensus earnings. This makes us more bullish on OPG, whose 750MW target capacity is expected to be profitable by January next year, albeit four months later than chief financial officer V Narayan Swami told us in June. Its 11 times Bloomberg consensus earnings price tag makes it a buy.

india really ought to be the place in which to invest, even in preference to china
i'm afraid the latter all too often shows a face of corruption and double-dealing that has been raised almost to an art form

however, despite the good intents of the current gov't in india, the civil service and similar remains swamped with bureaucracy and bureaucrats who often have no idea what they're talking about ....... rather than admit to their ignorance and ask for better explanation, they'll just block, which is frustrating in the exteme

personally, i wouldn't dare invest in individual companies here, but have plumped for JII.L (jp morgan indian)