So informs Shyam Kamadolli of Fidelity's Private Equity arm in his blog post titled "India’s Internet – the second gold rush". Extracts:
Last week, on one of the hottest afternoons in New York City this summer, I found myself cooling off in a swanky Midtown bar with an investment banker. Within minutes our conversation turned to reports of frenzied interest among large institutional investors in India’s growing online businesses. I cracked a smile as I had just heard the same thing earlier in the day from two other investors: a sovereign wealth fund and a mutual fund manager. This is only amusing because a year ago nobody would have been discussing an Indian Internet business ensconced in the glass and steel towers of Manhattan or San Francisco.Venture Intelligence is the leading provider of data and analysis on Private Company Financials, Transactions (private equity, venture capital and M&A) & their Valuations in India. Click Here to view our products list including the Free Deal Digest Weekly: India's First & Most Exhaustive Transactions Newsletter.
...My thesis on India’s Internet space has not changed since I first started investing in the country in 2008 – optimistic about the long haul but cautious in the near term.
...Most of the larger deals and higher valuations are driven by newer investors who espouse a familiar investment thesis: “India is 5 years behind China, China has produced several multi-billion-dollar Internet properties and hence India will too. Policy changes on the anvil will allow Indian startups to list overseas more easily, etc.”