Good morning, after its biggest contraction in decades, the Indian Government is trying to reinvigorate the economy through market-oriented changes and hoping to lure investment away from China and other countries.
The sale of national carrier Air India has opened the way for faster privatisation of public sector firms and the government is on track to list Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in early 2022, is word trickling down the grapevine.
🔚 of hearsay.
Hard facts are now 🔛
Shopping Discovery
The worst of the pandemic is behind us for now and in-store retail (when you walk into a store on the street, at the airport or in a mall, and make a purchase) seems to be on a recovery path.
In one sip, shopping malls have started recovering faster than they did after the first wave, supported by a rapid easing of restrictions as well as pent-up demand.
Tell Me More
Sure, let industry veterans take it from here.
🎙 "Retail is getting back to normal, and business is bouncing back. Almost 70-80% of it is back,” says Abhinav C Ajmera, Omaxe Ltd.
🎙 "We at DLF Emporio and Chanakya, have recorded the highest footfall in the last 13 years. The sales for most of our partners have increased from 50-300%, depending on the brands you look at.", says Prashant Gaurav Gupta, Head Luxury Malls, DLF Limited.
🎙 "Pre-pandemic, the fashion industry was optimistic in 2019. We thought 2020 would be a good year for us because the entire inventory and cost planning was done, but when we entered the pandemic, everything went to a standstill. 2021 has given us a sigh of relief.", says Vivek Srivastava, Benetton Group.
Key Trends And Takeaways
🛒 With travel restrictions axing international shopping destinations from the usual list, luxury retail across Indian malls and high streets is flourishing.
🛒 A sense of confidence has returned in consumers, who are finally making purchase decisions that have been on hold since the pandemic began.
🛒 Technology is here to stay and embracing tech - websites, PWAs (progressive web apps) and apps is the way ahead to achieve growth.
🛒 Consumer expectations from stores have changed, meaning that the way they will consume, the categories they choose, and the wallet share per category have all changed, for good.
🛒 With lower costs and higher profitability, Tier II and Tier III cities are the growth hotspots, feel retailers and mall developers alike.
Postcard From Dubai
Dubai's global real estate hotspot tag is rock solid but after a limp-biscuit performance in 2020 (the rare event in which half the biscuit melts and stays back in the cup), the sector's recovery looks uneven.
Here are the key takeaways from S&P Global's latest Dubai report card.
⛳ So far this year, residential real estate prices in Dubai have been rebounding strongly from a record low at end-2020 on the back of pent-up demand from both international and local buyers.
⛳ Dubai's real estate sector will likely benefit from the World Expo 2020, which started a year late this October due to the pandemic.
However, structural oversupply of residential properties will challenge price increases over the long term, making the recovery fragile.
⛳ Higher presales will contribute to stronger revenue for the real estate developers over the longer term. Secondary inventory is looking at a cooler reception though.
That said, over 2021-22, developers might see improved credit metric headroom for the current ratings, thanks to stronger cash flow from inventory sales.
⛳ Pressure on rents in the oversupplied retail and office segments will persist, meaning mall and office space operators continue their voyage into oncoming winds.
Hotel operators' recovery will be sluggish given that international tourism or work related travel won't regain momentum before 2022 or later.
Half A Cup Extra
- 🔼 HDFC Securities says DLF, Oberoi Realty, Phoenix Mills, Brigade and Mahindra Lifespaces shares can be good real estate stocks to buy for the long-term.
- Greater Noida development body plans to rake in INR 800 crore from industrial plots scheme
- 🔽 India's annual retail inflation eased to 4.35% in September from 5.30% in the previous month, government data showed.
To Net Zero
Unknown to most and alarmingly, cement, the soul of concrete is responsible for roughly 7% of all global emissions, which is more than aviation and deforestation combined.
To reduce carbon footprint, there's a growing focus on cement tech these days, as it happens to be one of the trickiest obstacles on the path to getting carbon emissions down to net zero by the year 2050.
Finally On The Path to Net Zero
Forty of the world’s leading cement and concrete manufacturers joined forces yesterday to accelerate the transition to greener concrete by pledging to cut CO2 emissions by a further 25% by 2030, taking a giant step towards ‘Net Zero’ concrete by 2050.
The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) accounts for 80% of concrete made outside of China and it intends to reach zero net emissions by relying on many firsts.
What's In The Mix?
The plot to net zero revolves around finding and substituting more alternatives to clinker, a binder of cement.
Also on the cards are usage of alternative fuels, new chemistry and manufacturing processes, carbon capture and storage, increased efficiency in concrete use and pushing governments to approve new forms of concrete and buy them.
Zooming Out
While the GCCA members have together outlined an ambitious programme, they have also called on governments, designers and contractors to fully play their part by assembling the right public policies and investments to support this global scale green transition.
While various pilot projects will be rolled out from 2023 onwards to ensure the goal is reached on time, it is time to see how governments and the private sector react to increased short term costs that such a green switch demands.
---------------
Climate pledges are going to be the tea time talk over the next few weeks as the COP 26 climate change summit is set to kick off in Glasgow, Scotland from October 31.
We will put up some tree hugging blurbs from time-to-time to keep you updated on the green front.
💚
☕ The Crew@Ginger Chai