Cautious Pune Inc on wait-and-watch mode

Industry leaders in general in Pune are reacting cautiously to the market gloom though they assert they dont see any major short-term impact on business.

Industry leaders in general in Pune are reacting cautiously to the market gloom though they assert they dont see any major short-term impact on business. They,however,said they would worry if the slide continues for a long term.

They also said the government needs to address issues like building infrastructure and offering tax concessions to address market negativity.

Rajesh Ghonasgi,Chief Financial Officer,Persistent Systems,said,It will be prudent for us to wait and evaluate trends,considering this is just a downgrade and not a structural issue with markets. In the short term we dont see an impact but we remain watchful of developments that could impact us mid-to-long term. We will continue to pursue our foreign exchange policy which is to treat foreign exchange hedging as an insurance position. We are confident of addressing the market changes.

The current market slide has also made the call for reforms shriller.

Director General of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA),Anant Sardeshmukh,said the government needs to address some long running issues seriously. The government needs to withdraw octroi,which is only levied in Maharashtra. Also the industry,particularly small and medium business enterprises (SMBE),face shortage of land for expansion and the government needs to build more industrial estates.

He added that to ensure that growth of industry is not hit,it is important for the government to simplify laws concerning hiring of workers for the industry.

President of the Pune chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI),Satish Magar,said that in the wake of negative climate,it was important the government simplifies approvals for real-estate projects. Normally,approval of projects takes a year but the government should not take more than 45 days to clear projects. Already real-estate industry has been hit due to increase in interest rates and now with fear of a downslide in the economy continuing,buying is likely to suffer, said Magar.

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Chairman of Force Motors,Abhay Firodia,said he would like to watch the market before offering any comment. Secretary of software exporters association of Pune (SEAP),Abhijeet Atre,said the market needs to be watched before any conclusions are drawn.

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Cautious Pune Inc on wait-and-watch mode

Industry leaders in general in Pune are reacting cautiously to the market gloom though they assert they dont see any major short-term impact on business.

Industry leaders in general in Pune are reacting cautiously to the market gloom though they assert they dont see any major short-term impact on business.