Published on April 15, 2024
On March 15, 2024, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) hosted the Tata Group Treasury Forum meeting at President, Mumbai - IHCL SeleQtions. The event witnessed active participation of over 60 senior Treasury practitioners from 25 Tata companies. In this day-long event, the participants gained insights from IHCL, Tata Technologies, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, and Axis Asset Management.
The event started with a welcome address by Amrita Talreja, Corporate Director - Treasury, IHCL, setting a positive tone for the day ahead. In the first session, Sushil Burnwal, Head - Treasury, Tata Technologies, discussed GIFT City - Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, India's first operational smart city designed for international finance services. He presented how investments in fixed deposits within GIFT City can serve as an effective cash pooling structure for companies, offering centralised management, optimised returns, liquidity management, risk mitigation, regulatory compliance and tax efficiency benefits.
Next, Prateek Kumar, Senior Analyst at Jefferies, presented the company’s views on the hospitality and hotel industry in India. He highlighted that just like other sectors, there is a discernible trend towards premiumisation across various segments within the hospitality industry. Moreover, he emphasised the optimistic macroeconomic conditions and the promising outlook for tourism, both of which are driving factors behind the current upcycle observed in the hotel industry. He also pointed out the substantial increase in the market capitalisation of the hospitality companies, indicating growing investor confidence.
Subsequently, Girish Bajaj, Chief - Treasury and Insurance; Jayanta Kumar Dasgupta, Head - Foreign Exchange and Commodity Hedging India and SEA; and Gautam Jain, Head - Foreign Exchange and Commodity Hedging Overseas Treasury Management Head, all from Tata Steel, showcased their learnings on commodity risk management. The team also highlighted how price volatility of raw materials used in steel production has increased exponentially during this decade and the associated need to manage commodity risks. They elaborated on how the team carries out commodity research and works closely with business units to hedge the commodity exposure.
Post lunch the Treasurers attended curated sessions on economy, forex, equity, fixed income and debt from Axis Bank and Axis Asset Management. Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist, Axis Bank, Head of Global Research & Whole Time Director, Axis Capital, and Board Member of Axis AMC, gave an update on the global economy focusing on US, China and Indian markets. Talking about the Indian economy he highlighted how high-end services export is contributing towards a positive total factor productivity growth, infrastructure spend and how utilities is supporting broad based growth, economic headwinds and associated scenarios. Neeraj Gambhir, Group Executive - Treasury, Markets & Wholesale Banking Products, Axis Bank, presented an outlook on major currencies and strategies to manage forex risk. He shared his views on use of INR as a settlement currency, changes in ECB guidelines/ODI on risk management, GIFT City – and how it can add value to ecosystems, interest rate risks and key themes for hedging and borrowing.
The day ended after an insightful panel discussion on debt and equity with R Shivakaumar, Head - Fixed Income; Shreyash Devalkar, Head - Equity; and Vandana Trivedi, Head - Institutional Sales & Passives from Axis Asset Management.
Participant Speak
As the host of the seventh Treasury Forum meet, IHCL is proud to have facilitated a dynamic gathering of Treasury professionals from 25 Tata companies at President, Mumbai - IHCL SeleQtions on March 15, 2024. Throughout the day, participants engaged in enriching discussions and were treated to a series of insightful presentations. Overall, the Treasury Forum meet enabled collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and networking opportunities among Tata group peers. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to TBExG and the participants who have contributed to make this meet a success.
— Rupesh Modi, VP - Treasury, IHCL