Is India a growth or value market? Decide with the help of some data
The investor argued strongly that following a value strategy in India could be more lucrative. To support his point, he presented data from the MSCI India Value and MSCI India Growth indexes over 3, 5, and 10-year periods. In each case, the Value index outperformed the Growth index. He was confident that this trend would continue in the future.
I, however, see India as a growth market. To support my view, I highlighted several points. Firstly, in India, mid- and small-cap stocks often outperform large-cap stocks. These smaller companies are typically in their growth phases, whereas large-cap companies are more mature with limited potential for significant capital appreciation, aligning more with a value strategy.
3 years
5 years
10 years
BSE 100
57%
107%
228%
BSE Mid cap
106%
201%
454%
BSE Small cap
113%
245%
508%
Another data point I shared is the higher price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio in India compared to other emerging markets. Despite this, the Indian market continues to outperform. This suggests that investors are willing to pay a premium for Indian companies due to their promising growth prospects. Higher P/E ratios are indicative of growth companies, as investors are willing to pay more for faster growth.
Price to earnings
Russia
5.7x
Brazil
7.4x
China
13.6x
Korea
18.1x
Indonesia
18.7x
India
23.0x
I also pointed out the difference in dividend yields. Value companies typically offer higher dividend yields, while growth companies either don’t pay dividends or
