Stand and delever

摘要

India's stockmarket is a magnificent spectacle. Worth $1.5 trillion, it gyrates more than Beyonce, is bet on by Gujarati grannies and Bostonian fund managers, and supports more stockbrokers than red braces do in London. But it has not been much use as a tool to raise funds for a capital-hungry country. An average of only $18 billion of equity a year has been raised through it since 2008 (see chart), equivalent to just 3% of India's capital investment. Skittish foreigners dominate trading, but even when they feel bullish, they huddle in 20-odd low-risk stocks.