Despite global capital strongly favoring artificial intelligence giants and marquee fundraising opportunities, India's long-term investment thesis remains intact, according to Hiren Ved, Director and CIO at Alchemy Capital Management. Speaking to NDTV Profit, Ved noted that foreign investors are currently focused on opportunities such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic, which are attracting a significant share of global capital. He emphasized that "The world is currently besotted with some very large IPOs and fundraising opportunities. Those are far bigger opportunities that global capital is looking to chase as compared to India at the current point in time."
Veteran investor Vikas Khemani has challenged the prevailing pessimism surrounding Indian equities, arguing that concerns stem largely from recency bias rather than weakening fundamentals. Speaking at the ET Alpha Wealth Summit, Khemani highlighted that India has delivered far better returns in the last 5, 10 or even 15 years within the emerging market space, despite recent underperformance. He emphasized that the current pessimism is simply a reflection of short-term market sentiment rather than a deterioration in the country's structural investment case.
According to Ved, India is clearly a bottoms-up market where investors should focus less on benchmark indices and more on individual companies. The veteran fund manager noted that "We have the same problems today lingering that we had earlier, but from March many stocks have given 20%, 30%, 40%, even 50% returns." He believes earnings growth is increasingly concentrated in select mid-cap and small-cap companies, making stock selection more important than broad market calls. While the Nifty has largely moved sideways over the past two years, several stocks have generated substantial returns during the same period, demonstrating the selective nature of current market opportunities.
Regarding recent measures to support the rupee, Ved welcomed the steps but cautioned that currency stability alone is not enough to drive foreign inflows into Indian equities. As reported by NDTV Profit, he emphasized that "Currency is just one of the dimensions," adding that investors also look at relative growth opportunities across markets. The government's response is nevertheless important because it signals that policymakers are actively addressing challenges arising from global uncertainties and higher commodity prices, providing confidence to both domestic and foreign investors.
When comparing investment positions between China and India, Lee notes that the balance of investment positions is going to slowly shift toward India. As reported by CNBC TV18, he highlights that people continue to discover how difficult it is to conduct adequate due diligence in China and obtain the information needed to make clear investment decisions. The artificial intelligence trade developments, particularly Jensen Huang's shift toward local computing, are expected to reduce pressure on massive hyperscale computing facilities, making AI technology more accessible to Indian companies. Despite short-term capital market challenges, Lee emphasizes that infrastructure building in India is crucial for long-term strategic investments, advising investors to focus on fundamentals rather than short-term currency fluctuations.
