'Valuations now reasonable, not overly cheap'

For three decades, Neelesh Surana has watched the highs and lows of market cycles. The seasoned investor views the recent correction as a promising entry point for those with a long-term perspective. As Chief Investment Officer, Surana, who has been with Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India) since 2008, leads its research and fund management strategies. In this interview, he explains what makes current valuations attractive and shares his disciplined approach to stock selection and outlook on the banking sector. Below is the edited transcript of our discussion. With the ongoing downturn, do you think valuations have become attractive? Yes. The current market correction has made Indian equity valuations more reasonable, though not overly cheap. Historically, Indian markets have traded at a premium compared to global peers, which still holds. In our opinion, some premium is justified given India's strong long-term growth prospects for the next two decades, structurally lower cost of capital, and relatively low market volatility arising from robust local flows. The recent correction that came after nearly 19 months of no significant drawdowns was largely driven by FII (foreign institutional investor) selling in response to glob