Time To Pick ‘Unloved’ Sectors, Says N Jayakumar

Key Bets

Jayakumar is betting on manufacturing as most of the investments are made in the year before and two years after elections.

Hence, with the general election due next year, the period between 2023 and 2026 looks attractive for manufacturing, aided by production-linked incentives, China-plus-one strategy, weakening of the Indian rupee, capacities moving from Taiwan to India and other neighbouring nations, and the government’s extensive push.

These movements will likely generate employment and increase the gross domestic product also, he said.

The integrated metal space, especially steel and the pharma sector, is “unloved and under-owned”.

Most of these stocks, barring one or two industry leaders, are at 52-week lows, but some of these have yielded “record-quarterly” numbers with increase in both Ebitda margins and volume growth, he said.

Considering the characteristics of the economy at present, manufacturing, metals and pharma should do really well, Jayakumar said, listing these are his top bets.