India growth holds promise: BNP's Lassus

MUMBAI: A sound banking system and less dependency on foreign trade has acted in India���s favour in minimising the impact of global recession, said Mr. Geoffroy de Lassus, AMS Coordinator for India, Asset Management & Services, BNP Paribas.

���We are looking forward to India���s growth story. Even with 5-6 per cent GDP growth, Indian growth story augurs well vis-a-vis other emerging economies,��� said Mr. Lassus, speaking to ET on the sidelines of a press conference to rename Geojit Financial Services as Geojit BNP Paribas, which was acquired by the Europe based investment firm.

The only weakness lies in the nation���s obligation to import oil to fulfill its energy requirement. But the recently inked Indo-US nuclear deal will prove highly instrumental in meeting this need in the long run, he feels.

On being asked what attracted BNP Paribas to do business in Indian capital market, Mr. Lassus spelt out three crucial aspects. ���India���s savings rate is substantially higher than any other country while the emerging middle class will add to nation���s fast-paced developments,��� he said.

���At the same time, Indians want to secure a future and for that they do need perfect investment strategy for their saved corpus. It can only be executed through well-researched financial advices.���

Commenting on Indian capital market regulations, the AMS Coordinator for India said, ���The regulations are complicated and many. However, they also guarantee that business is safe.���

Lassus expects a global economic recovery by the end of March 2010.