Growing economy and willingness to adopt long-delayed reforms improved India’s ranking in 2017 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index to the second slot.
India moved ahead of United Arab Emirates in 2017 from third spot in 2016. In 2016 too, India had improved its position from fifth to third. China continued to top the rankings. The survey of more than 800 logistics executives offers an annual snapshot of industry sentiment to go with the index rankings of the world’s 50 leading emerging markets by size, business conditions, infrastructure and transport connections.
Further, supply chain executives surveyed India as the emerging market with the most logistics potential and the country where their companies were most likely to invest. “It’s remarkable to see a country of this size growing at better than 7 per cent a year. Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform has the potential to be a game-changer,” said Detlev Janik, South Asia CEO of Agility Global Integrated Logistics.
“It’s going to spur companies in India to strengthen their systems and shift their efforts from minimising their taxes to maximising their business opportunities,” he added.
Twenty-three per cent of survey respondents said passage of the GST makes their companies more likely to invest in India. However, the short-term optimism about India has been tempered somewhat by the government’s surprise decision in 2016 to remove large bank notes from circulation. “That will encourage broader adaptation of credit cards, mobile payment and other cashless transactions, but the immediate effect has been jarring for individuals and companies that were caught off guard and aren’t ready to go cashless,” he said.
Despite Ability’s upbeat views of countries like India, industry professionals cautioned about the broad outlook for emerging markets. Nearly 69 per cent expressed concern that the UK’s Brexit vote and the failure of global and regional trade initiatives signal a threat to trade. “Uncertainty and volatility have characterised many emerging markets in 2016. This has been compounded by the political environment in Europe and the US, which will have direct consequences on trade with Latin America, Asia and Africa. However there have been many positives too ie, the strong performance of India,” said John Manners-Bell, CEO of Transport Intelligence.
India moved ahead of United Arab Emirates in 2017 from third spot in 2016. In 2016 too, India had improved its position from fifth to third. China continued to top the rankings. The survey of more than 800 logistics executives offers an annual snapshot of industry sentiment to go with the index rankings of the world’s 50 leading emerging markets by size, business conditions, infrastructure and transport connections.
Further, supply chain executives surveyed India as the emerging market with the most logistics potential and the country where their companies were most likely to invest. “It’s remarkable to see a country of this size growing at better than 7 per cent a year. Goods and Services Tax (GST) reform has the potential to be a game-changer,” said Detlev Janik, South Asia CEO of Agility Global Integrated Logistics.
“It’s going to spur companies in India to strengthen their systems and shift their efforts from minimising their taxes to maximising their business opportunities,” he added.
Twenty-three per cent of survey respondents said passage of the GST makes their companies more likely to invest in India. However, the short-term optimism about India has been tempered somewhat by the government’s surprise decision in 2016 to remove large bank notes from circulation. “That will encourage broader adaptation of credit cards, mobile payment and other cashless transactions, but the immediate effect has been jarring for individuals and companies that were caught off guard and aren’t ready to go cashless,” he said.
Despite Ability’s upbeat views of countries like India, industry professionals cautioned about the broad outlook for emerging markets. Nearly 69 per cent expressed concern that the UK’s Brexit vote and the failure of global and regional trade initiatives signal a threat to trade. “Uncertainty and volatility have characterised many emerging markets in 2016. This has been compounded by the political environment in Europe and the US, which will have direct consequences on trade with Latin America, Asia and Africa. However there have been many positives too ie, the strong performance of India,” said John Manners-Bell, CEO of Transport Intelligence.
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