Mumbai attacks: "It will be a tough 2009 for our Indian counterparts."

by Catherine Woods - Thursday, 27th November 2008 -

Aftershock founder Hiro Harjani says 2009 is going to be tough for India in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the ongoing liquidity crisis.

“India has had bombs before. Delhi and Jaipur had terrorist attacks and the retail market has remained resilient and bounced back in those cities.

“However, the situation currently in Mumbai has received tremendous international exposure in comparison that it's practically the equivalent of 9/11 for us.

“From an operations perspective, it will deter foreigners from visiting Mumbai in our peak trading season which will consequently impact sales in the next few months. Most retailers will have a cautious outlook ahead and may even scale back future plans.

“In addition to this factor, there is already an ongoing liquidity crisis due to the stock market collapse and the retraction of the mutual funds from overseas investors.

“This crisis of lower than anticipated consumer confidence and tourist drop will also impact retail sales in coming months.

“Personally, I do believe it will be a tough 2009 for our Indian counterparts but resilient as Indians are, we do only hope these issues are apparent in the short term.”

01/12/08

Our thoughts and condolences go to Hiro Harjani and his family who have been personally affected by the tragic events in India. The violence must stop.