Indian businesses face a range of challenges including trade wars and a global economic slowdown – but few firms are taking steps to mitigate the risk, said TMF Group which recently released the results of a new study.
Highlights
- 49% of respondents predict that a global economic slowdown will be a key challenge for Indian firms in the coming year
- 46% cite trade wars as a danger, with 37% concern about the impact of climate change on business
- 34% believe that a EU/US trade dispute will damage India, while 33% of respondents feel that the UK leaving the European Union will have a bad effect on Indian companies.
Very few companies have taken steps to minimise the impact of geopolitical shocks, despite the respondents’ concerns, said TMF.
A mere 1% of Indian respondents report they have identified new customer target markets that are less affected by trade disputes, and less than 1% said they have identified new markets which are less affected by Brexit.
Only 31% of respondents say they plan to reduce their operations in countries that are affected by trade wars.
“International geopolitics can seem a long way away, but Indian firms – even the smallest ones – are closely connected to the world’s economy, said Shagun Kumar, Managing Director for India at TMF Group. “2020 is likely to contain a large number of international business shocks, and these present both a challenge and an opportunity for Indian firms. Given the pace and complexity of changes and enormity of their impact, it’s worrying that so few firms are proactively preparing to manage business continuity and growth.”
