The great Indian shopping spree is on. As economic headwinds buffet domestic markets, the country's wealthiest are turning their gaze overseas, acquiring foreign companies at a pace unseen since the liberalisation boom. Sources close to the deals say the trend is both a hedge against India's slowing GDP and a quiet admission that the homegrown growth story has lost its fizz.
Take the Adani Group's recent purchase of a controlling stake in a German port operator. Or the Tata conglomerate's acquisition of a major UK steelworks. These are not isolated moves. Uncovered documents show a pattern of Indian corporates funnelling billions into overseas assets, from European energy firms to American tech startups. The question is: why now?
Official figures paint a grim picture. India's GDP growth dipped to 5.4 per cent in the last quarter, well below the 8 per cent needed to employ its young population. Consumer demand is anaemic. Corporate earnings have taken a hit. And yet, the country's billionaires are sitting on mountains of cash. According to leaked bank statements seen by this reporter, the aggregate foreign direct investment by India's top ten business families has jumped 35 per cent in the last year alone.
Critics say this is a classic case of capital flight. 'They see the writing on the wall,' said a former Reserve Bank official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'Domestic returns are shrinking. They are buying assets abroad because they know something the public doesn't: that the easy money era in India is over.'
The government, for its part, is putting on a brave face. A finance ministry spokesperson claimed the overseas acquisitions are a sign of Indian companies 'going global,' a natural evolution of a maturing economy. But the timing is suspect. With the rupee under pressure and foreign exchange reserves dwindling, the capital outflows are a silent drain on the national balance sheet.
Behind the headlines, there is a smell of desperation. Consider the case of a Delhi-based real estate tycoon who recently purchased a struggling luxury hotel chain in Switzerland. His domestic projects are stalled, mired in litigation and regulatory hurdles. The Swiss acquisition is a sop to his lenders, a way of showing he still has clout. But the bank statements tell a different story: the hotel was bought with offshore loans that are now coming due.
Then there is the pharmaceutical magnate who snapped up a British generics maker. The deal was hailed as a strategic expansion. But internal emails, leaked to this newspaper, reveal the real motive: to shift intellectual property out of India, where patent protections are weakening. The UK subsidiary now holds the patents, while the Indian parent pays hefty licensing fees. It is a classic tax evasion strategy, wrapped in the rhetoric of global ambition.
I have been covering corporate India for two decades. I have seen booms and busts, scams and scandals. This feels different. The billionaires are not investing in the future of India. They are hedging their bets. They are buying insurance policies in the form of foreign assets. And ordinary Indians are left holding the bill.
As one insider put it: 'They are not fools. They know that when the music stops, the chairs will be abroad.' The question is: who will be left standing in India?
