Rupee depreciation set to benefit country’s $283 billion IT sector
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The rupee’s fall to a historic low against the US dollar on Wednesday has left one segment of companies cheering – India’s $283 billion information technology (IT) sector. The rupee plunged to 90.29 against the dollar before closing at 90.19, marking a fall of 5.4% since the start of the fiscal year.
The country’s tech sector benefits from this because its export receipts translate into more rupee revenue. In contrast, importers have to shell out more rupees for their dollar purchases. Indian IT companies including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, and Wipro Ltd get more than 40% of their business from the US, for which they are paid in dollars.
Even as the higher-valued dollar is a positive for the sector, other currencies are also expected to help. Since the start of the year, the rupee has declined 15.47% to ₹120 per pound and 8.32% to ₹105 against the euro. Indian IT’s Big Five get 25 to 33% of their revenue from Europe.
Mumbai-based TCS gets 17.5% of its revenue from clients in the UK. None of the other top five IT companies discloses revenue from the UK separately. The rupee’s fall comes as a boon for the IT sector, which has grown at its slowest clip in decades because of low demand amid high lending rates, which has curbed client spending.
Revenue has taken a hit with automation tools resulting in lower billing. “In a scenario where the macroeconomic environment has been uncertain but on an improving trajectory, a depreciating rupee will act as a positive cushion for the IT sector," said Amit Chandra, vice president of HDFC Securities. Only three of the Big Five ended last year with revenue growth, which did not exceed 5% on a yearly basis.
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