Uday Kotak urges Indians to build globally competitive firms amid uncertain global environment

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 16 (ANI): Uday Kotak, founder and Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, on Thursday, urged every Indian to focus on building India and globally competitive Indian enterprises amid a rapidly changing and uncertain world.
Kotak Mahindra Bank founder further added that corporates in India will build their companies sustainably, keeping faith with investors.
"This is a time for every Indian to step out of our comfort, convenience, and complacency zones to build an India and an Indian business that is ready to take on the world. I wish that corporate India, in which investors have such great faith, would wake up to this challenge and focus on building companies sustainably for the future, thereby improving the earnings of these companies over time, so that the current high P/E ratios become justified. And for investors to continue putting money into the equity markets," Kotak said in a video message.
He added that the Samvat year 2081 has been a challenging one for equity investors, with muted returns amid a volatile global environment, said Uday Kotak, in his market outlook ahead of Diwali.
Kotak acknowledged the broader macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties that have weighed on investor sentiment. "The year 2081 has also been crucial, as the world has changed significantly. The geopolitics, the tariffs, the uncertainties and multiple wars have clouded the horizon,n and we are looking forward to more clarity as we move into 2082 Samvat," he said.
So far in this Samvat year, between October 31, 2024, and October 16, 2025, the BSE Sensex and the Nifty 50 at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) have yielded approximately 5% each.
Despite the subdued returns this year, Kotak noted that over a three-year period, investor gains remain satisfactory. He highlighted the resilience of the Indian equity landscape, supported by continued inflows into mutual funds and capital markets.
"The Indian trend line of saver becoming the investor continues at pace," he said, attributing the trend to policy moves like zero tax up to Rs 12 lakh and GST cuts that are boosting the domestic economy.
Kotak cautioned that while US markets are on a roll, the rally is heavily concentrated. "It is the Magnificent Seven which have produced the bulk of the returns and the rest of the US markets have not grown at the same speed." (ANI)