Business Today
31-Oct-21A leading business magazine read by the business leaders for staying ahead and managing challenges that comes right away in the ever changing world of business.
in this issue
return of the big spender
As the Covid-19 pandemic hit India in 2020, the luxury sector was one of the hardest hit. With lockdowns across the country, and malls and high street stores shut, the crisis hit the industry badly. According to estimates by Euromonitor International, the Indian luxury goods market took a deep 33 per cent hit and fell to $5 billion in 2020 as the pandemic took its toll. But today, over a year later, as we enter the festive season in 2021, things look vastly different. With the government’s massive vaccination effort gathering momentum, and the debilitating second wave of the pandemic behind us, India looks set to get back to a path to recovery. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its latest monetary policy statement, has also retained its FY22…
a touch of luxe
CHINA AND INDIA LEAD THE WAY Despite the pandemic, the top 15 countries minted new billionaires in 2020, with the highest growth coming from China and India, where their billionaire populations rose by 19.9 per cent and 19.5 per cent, respectively. TOP 15 COUNTRIES BY THE NUMBER OF BILLIONAIRES Billionaire population Wealth ($ billion) Source: Wealth-X Billionaire Census 2021 MASSIVE GROWTH FORECAST 63% EXPECTED GROWTH IN NUMBER OF ULTRA-HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS (UHNWIs) IN INDIA TO 11,198 BY 2025 Source: Knight Frank 27% THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF UHNWIs INDIA WITNESSED IN 2015 TO 2020 A BRIGHT FUTURE According to Statista, India’s luxury goods market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.99% in 2021-2025. Source: Statista THE RICH LIST Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in India for the 10th consecutive year. L.N. Mittal, Dilip Shanghvi, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Shiv Nadar,…
dubai-india trade rises
Dubai’s trade with India grew in the first half (H1) of 2021, making India its second biggest trading partner after China, according to the Dubai government. According to IBEF, gold topped the list of commodities at 138.8 billion dirhams ($37.48 billion) in Dubai’s H1 external trade. TRADE (in billion dirhams) Y-O-Y change in % CHINA 86.7 ($23.41 billion) 30.7% INDIA 67.1 ($18.12 billion) 74.5% US 32 ($8.64 billion) 1% SAUDI ARABIA 30.5 ($8.24 billion) 26% SWITZERLAND 24.8 ($6.7 billion) 10% SOURCE: IBEF…
crafting the cognac
More than 300 years ago, in 1715, Jean Martell, who successful English wine merchants, arrived in the Charente region of France to buy wine, and send it back to his home in Jersey in the UK. But instead, he became so enamored with the area and its brandy that he decided to stay and start making his own. One man’s trip to France gave the world the Marte II Cognac and the heritage that is Maison Martell. Martell’s courage to challenge convention to pioneer new know-how, his openness in reaching out to the people of the Cognac region, his integrity in his dealings with others-all these laid the foundation for the direction Maison Martell was to take early on. Since then, Maison Martell has been defined by the audacity with…
did you know?
What grapes make Cognac? A single grape variety, Ugni Blanc, accounts for more than 98% of cognac vineyards. Its high yield and late maturation produce wines that are low in alcohol and high in acidity. The acidity preserves the wines naturally before distillation, while the low alcohol levels allow greater concentration of the aromas present in the wines. Maison Martell is alone among the great cognac houses to distil exclusively clear wines. This specificity helps to reveal the authentic aromas of the grapes, resulting in the generous fruit aromas of Martell VS, a cognac also distinguished by its remarkable smoothness on the palate. Martell has a Secret Cellar for its oldest eaux-de-vie In 2016, Martell’s cellar and blending secrets were transferred from Benoit Fil, the house’s previous cellar master, to Christophe Valtaud. Valtaud moved…
i am a strong believer in cash flows
The BIG BULL OF the Indian markets, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, has had a mixed year. Even as the billionaire investor battled significant health issues including a debilitating bout of Covid-19, the performance of his stock portfolio has been nothing short of stellar. And while he scoffs at new-age trading favourites such as Bitcoin and Zomato, it hasn’t stopped him from a daring foray into the skies with his upcoming budget airline, Akasa Air. In a freewheeling chat with BT’s Global Business Editor Udayan Mukherjee, Jhunjhunwala explains why he remains the bull on Dalal Street. Edited excerpts: UM: With 60,000 done and dusted on the Sensex, do you think there are even greater summits ahead for us in the months to come before this bull market tires out? RJ: Well, my personal opinion is…
