Saturday, March 21, 2009 | Park Hyatt Philadelphia

Panels

Rational Exuberance in the Indian Capital Markets

The panel will discuss the current macroeconomic and investment themes in India. Key sectors have seen a paradigm shift in their business over the last year or more, with valuations taking a reverse turn from the previous year. It remains to be seen how low-multiple stocks with relatively higher growth prospects are being viewed by the educated and relatively more risk-averse investors in India today, and whether the fall in the Indian stock market is truly reflective of the business opportunities that India holds in the future or whether it is simply misplaced and temporary investor hostility towards India's prospects. The panel will also touch upon the the regulatory environment governing trade, the impact of the global illiquidity on the momentum within the market and the advent of “hot” sectors to watch out for as India tries to recover from the global meltdown and continue on its growth trajectory. The performance, prospects and opportunities within the commodities and derivatives markets will also be explored, along with the optimum trading and hedge fund strategies to minimize risk and generate stable returns. All in all, the panel will explore the road that lies ahead for India's capital markets – both in terms of the opportunities and the challenges that they have to overcome.

Moderator

Senthil Chengalvarayan - President and Group Editorial Director Business Media, Television 18

Speakers

Bollywood's Silver Screen: Pursuit of the Golden Globe

No one can ignore the flamboyance of the Mumbai film industry, but how much of the underlying economics do we truly perceive? This celebration of the Indian spirit has finally risen from its humble “slumdog” background to acquire the character of a full-fledged and profitable industry, collecting global accolades across platforms. In the words of the industry’s greatest icon, Bollywood’s success has been inherently tied to the progress of the Indian economy. This panel thereby explores the impact of India’s booming economy on Bollywood’s global reach and recognition, and the industry’s role in bolstering the Indian economy even further, entertaining audiences beyond the domestic shores through its films and music. Discussion topics will chart the growth of the industry, encompass the “retailing” of cinema, exploring the changing landscape in film financing and how prolific cinema-making has given way to a quality that is appreciated by a much broader audience.

Moderator

Rajeev Masand - Entertainment Editor, CNN-IBN

Speakers

League Extraordinaire: The Industrialization of Indian Sports

The rapid industrialization of the country and the consequent rise in disposable income has changed the nature of sports economics in India. Specifically in recent days, the Indian Premier League has shown us how an efficient business microcosm within the sector can successfully monetize everything in its wake. This panel will explore how the major sports have been transformed into a semi-entertainment industry that goes hand-in-hand with Bollywood, how its economic potential could influence the consumer and infrastructure sectors, and what challenges lie ahead in terms of sustainability.

Moderator

Vijay Amritraj - Former Indian Tennis Player, Sports Commentator and Actor

Speakers

Backstage Demand Drivers: The Indian Media and Ad Industry

The media and advertising industry is hailed as one of India’s fastest growing sectors, with the country slated to be one of the key drivers of the industry in the world over the next few years. The projected growth figures of these industries have been projected north of 20%. This panel of highly creative minds will discuss the evolution of the industry over the years, the differences with global media outreach, the innovation over traditional formats, the increased media penetration especially across gender and age groups, the advent of foreign investors in the space and the unique challenges that the Indian marketers face today in attracting the attention of the India’s uniquely diverse population, and thereby enhance consumer spending. Finally, the country’s potential to serve as a future hub of advertising and media will also be debated.

Moderator

Sreenivasan Jain - Managing Editor, NDTV 24x7

Speakers

India, Innovating: Entrepreneurial Ventures Cross Domains

The genesis of Indian entrepreneurship lies in today’s large family-held businesses in the core industries space that started with modest capital at their disposal. The startup paradigm has rapidly evolved in the last couple of decades with the new entrepreneurs transcending domains, leveraging the internet to achieve scale, dreaming global and seeking venture capital. So, what challenges do Indian entrepreneurs face today? After all, the country by itself offers a tremendous base for domestic consumption through greater penetration efforts, and reaching international customers is just a click away. This panel seeks to address that question and also explore successful ideas that have been born out of the internet boom and despite it, the product-vs.-service focus of emerging startups, the operational challenges for startups, the financing choices of the educated entrepreneurs and the road ahead with the emergence of venture capitalists and private equity investors across the life-cycle of a new business.

Moderator

Sri Rajan - Partner, Head, Bain & Company's India Private Equity Practice

Speakers

The Healthcare Duopoly: India, the Medical Center of the World

This panel aims to assess the policies and economics governing drug manufacture as well as healthcare service delivery in India. On one hand, the discussion will seek to encompass India’s foray into the global markets with its generics portfolio and its contract manufacturing partnerships, the increasing stress on innovation, and the next wave of outsourcing in clinical research. On the other hand, the changing patient care paradigm in the country will be debated, given the attractiveness of India as a global medical destination contrasted with the need for service dissemination and privatization across all corners of the country. The panel will chart the future of the healthcare industry in India as a customer to both domestic and international consumers. What emerging sub-segments will investors be bullish on in this wave?

Moderator

Michael Fernandes - Executive Director, Investments Division, Khazanah Nasional

Speakers

(Sub)Prime Property: India's Real Estate in the aftermath of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis

India’s real estate industry is one of the largest contributors to India’s GDP and the key driver and multiplier of employment for associated industries like steel and cement. Over the past decade, with the sector’s super-normal profitability established as a global benchmark and its expectations of attracting over $30 billion in foreign investments, the 30% growth ascribed to the sector was unquestionable. Given recent trends, however, the industry has come to experience severe depreciation over the last year. The panel will discuss the opportunities, trends and risks embedded in the Indian real estate market, specifically focusing on the clampdown on housing credit and the consequent refinancing of existing loans, the prospects of FDIs in the sector given governmental stimuli, and the advent of real estate funds given the low valuations in the market.

Moderator

Louis Klein - Founder and Managing Director, IREO

Speakers

‘Raising the Bar’ Code: Impact of Technology 2.0 on the Masses

India's Technological development has caused significant economic growth in the last 10-15 years. This panel will explore the role of technology in India's position in the global economy, its genesis inIT/ITeS outsourcing thereby spawning growth in ancillary industries, and its expansion into a sector that has increasingly become more focused on domestic consumption in both equipment and software. Specifically, the panel will explore the rapidly accelerating use of technology by the Indian consumer, synchronized with the urbanization of the country. Governmental incentives in the sector will be discussed as a facilitator for the growth of the sector, as well as the challenges in disseminating and adapting technology for public use beyond the urban setting.

Moderator

Sanjay Puri - President, Alliance for US India Business

Speakers

The India-Express: Tourism in the Time of Turmoil

The tourism industry in India has had strong interrelationships with India’s globalization efforts. This panel will seek to explore the boom in leisure and medical tourism in the country over the last decade, including the impact of world-class hospitality chains, global travel houses, industrial growth and the ubiquitous internet. Panelists will debate the significance of these drivers in the aftermath of India’s economic and political background, and thereby chart the itinerary for the sector going forward. On a related note, the panel will also discuss the role and growth of infrastructure as an enabling driver for tourism, and the critical role of the government in providing the much-needed boost to the two industries. The likes of the ‘Incredible India’ campaign have left a deep imprint on our minds, but is it here to last?

Moderator

Devika Anand - Head-Travel Programming, NDTV Lifestyle

Speakers

Nurturing the National Backbone: India’s Infrastructure, 2014 and beyond

Infrastructure industries such as steel, power and cement have so far been an important part of the India Growth Story. The Planning Commission of the Government is increasingly focusing on enhancing spending in the sector over the next five years, almost doubling it from current levels as a percentage of GDP, as a critical catalyst for the overall economy and in attracting foreign investments. This panel will look at these industries using the lens of facilitating economic development to help sustain India's global leadership position. In addition, the panel will debate on the extent on private-public participation in critical sectors, including private foreign direct investment, as well as rapid urbanization of larger parts of the country and development and expansion of the transportation infrastructure.

Moderator

Sri Rajan - Partner, Head, Bain & Company's India Private Equity Practice

Speakers