EQ Saturday Sapience #41

The world is witnessing rapid transformations, with an acceleration in armed conflicts, a reshuffling of the global energy landscape, and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, reshaping our reality at a staggering pace. In the chemical sector, Indian firms are positioning themselves as contenders against China, leveraging indigenization to capture a share of the global market once dominated by Western nations. Meanwhile, India is optimizing its oil strategy by sourcing discounted crude from Venezuela, following its economic gains from Russian oil imports. In infrastructure, Goa's airports exemplify the efficiency of private management over public, underscoring the broader debate on privatization. 

• The World Ahead 2024 - Life comes at you fast. Whether it’s the upsurge in armed conflict, the redrawing of the global energy-resources map or rapid progress in artificial intelligence (AI), the world is changing at mind-boggling speed. From the situation in the Middle East to the adoption of electric vehicles to the treatment of obesity, things look very different from the way they did just a year or two ago… Read more
• Indian Chemical Firms Take Fight To China - India's initiative to indigenise chemicals is meant to emerge as an alternative to China in global markets… The western bloc, led by France, Germany, Italy and U.S., controlled 40% global chemical trade till the global recession in 2007-08. This was the time when China started building massive infrastructure in petrochemicals and basic chemicals, thanks to low labour costs, lax environmental rules and government subsidies.… Read more
• As US eases sanctions on Venezuela, India finds its next Russia to buy discounted oil. The country has already saved more than USD5billion by importing discounted Russian oil… Read more
• Mopa Vs Dabolim: Goa’s Airports Show Why Some Activities Are Best Left To Private Players… Read more
• “The belief that some fundamental limiter is no longer valid—and thus historic notions of fair value no longer matter—is invariably at the core of every bubble and consequent crash. In fiction, willing suspension of disbelief adds to our enjoyment…. But our purpose in investing is serious, not fun, and we must constantly be on the lookout for things that can’t work in real life. In short, the process of investing requires a strong dose of disbelief... Inadequate scepticism contributes to investment losses. Time and time again, the post-mortems of financial debacles include two classic phrases: ‘It was too good to be true’ and ‘What were they thinking?’” —Howard Marks