Its not the onset of winter but rather, its the sagas of corruption we are being bombarded with on a daily basis. Considering the events of past few days when market has sought excuses to make us poorer, whether its rumoured resignation of our PM or Korean War or Ireland crisis, it is rather fitting to discover LIC scandal just when market seemed a bit normal than usual with less volatility. Fear is contagious and no wonder, the way market tanked in last hour or so, seems in sync with prevailing mood.
Looking at the new flow and CBI statement, it is hard to figure the magnitude of the scandal or whether its a full fledged corporate scam or just a case of bribery. Naina Kidwai was saying that an event of this magnitude can not be performed by a single entity and it has to be a giant collaboration among the powers that be. When officials holding higher positions like CEO, DGM, GM etc are being held and that too in a single day, something must be quite serious.
First the Bloomberg mentioned name of Money Matters Financial and it was already into lower circuit 20%. Though premature on my part but I guess, it is going to suffer worst than SKS Microfinance in coming days. Now news channels are saying, more than 30 corporate houses are involved in the case which completely nullifies what Deepak Parekh was claiming which was of, this being a one-off case. No doubt, LIC is going to suffer some more setbacks but BOI, PNB and Central Bank are also going to see some downside. Interestingly, it is only the name of the Bribe Takers that are highlighted by the channels and not many Real estate developers are being named. As far as downside is concerned, I suspect the trickledown effect percolating down to other PSUs but that also gives a nice opportunity to get into some of those high-flying banking stocks next week when the dust will settle down a bit.
I guess, more correction will take place only when we will have complete knowledge of types of fraud cases or types of loans or possible loss to shareholders. On the positive side, I think only 2 companies in India enjoy nationwide trust of such grand proportions, LIC and SBI. Plus, all these companies are government controlled. More so, India has built its reputation as one country with perhaps strongest banking system. Add to that, incoming IPOs/FPOs and I think, Indian government will be more than quick to settle the dust whether through underplaying the quantum of scam or announcing quick redressal.
Lastly, we dont really expect Indian businesses to have perfect moral and ethical values. Corruption is a way of life. Someone had rightly said, ""Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when to go to bed; he who fears corruption fears life." Its just that, things have been exposed so we are having negative reactions. And in any case, Indian public is quite forgiving and we dont really like to hold grudges against the corporate for a longer time frame.
This too shall pass away
Okay..okay..I am seeing some sleepy faces..
And Yes, Welcome Back Sir...Good to see purple balm all over again...