After surviving months of economic turbulence, Indian lawyers are priming themselves for the legal market’s resurgence and the chance to lead distressed clients to safety. Vandana Chatlani reports
The Indian legal market is buzzing with talk of an imminent upswing following 12 months of struggle. Some firms have thrived on recent challenges while others have kept a low profile, waiting for work to return.
Most agree that law firms in India have not suffered as much as their overseas counterparts. “We’ve benefited due to our size,” says Abhishek Saxena, a partner at 10 month-old Phoenix Legal. “There hasn’t been a great amount of slowdown, it’s mostly anecdotal,” he adds. “When you’re riding the wave, you become blasé about any bad news.”
“India’s story is not that bad,” agrees Ravi Nath, a partner at Rajinder Narain & Co. “Our banking system is intact, we have a healthy consumer base and producers in India are less dependent on exports.”
“Any sector that has potential in the rural areas was not affected,” says Sunil Seth, a partner at Seth Dua Associates. For example, “most telecom companies are expanding their businesses in India and are actually looking at going down to the grassroots level and spreading to smaller towns”.
Others say that maintaining a general practice has insulated their firms from the effects of the crisis: “We never relied on a single branch and instead handled a variety of matters such as IP, M&A, property matters, litigation and dispute resolution, so we felt no effect,” says Vikram Trivedi, managing partner of Manilal Kher Ambalal & Co, a century-old Mumbai firm.
Costs and benefits
“The downturn helped us in diversifying our revenue streams and recruiting new talent,” says Rajat Sethi, a partner at S&R Associates. For Phoenix Legal, the downward spiral was also a blessing in disguise. “We were able to have the undivided attention of senior executives who would otherwise have been too busy to listen to us communicate our vision as a law firm,” says Sawant Singh, a partner based in the firm’s Mumbai office.
While the ebulliant mood at most law firms in New Delhi and Mumbai suggests that India is on the road to recovery, others say the worst is not yet over. “Work has risen, but it doesn’t mean revenue has,” says Ranjeev Dubey, managing partner at N South. “You can’t make money off people who are broke.” Dubey’s firm was previously known as NDLO South and was affiliated with New Delhi Law Offices. However, it changed its name earlier this year when New Delhi Law Offices was reorganized after the departure of PS Dasgupta, one of its main partners.
“The final phase of recession is yet to come,” agrees Manoj Singh, managing partner at Singh & Associates. “I’m already being defensive. We’re conscious about new costs and we are cutting costs. We’ll hit rock bottom in six to 12 months.”
Firms relying on transactional work have certainly felt the impact of the slowdown. “Work has been dull,” admits Shobhan Thakore, a partner at Talwar Thakore & Associates. “We’re operating at hardly 50% of our capacity, although luckily, because of our size, we’ve had no layoffs and we haven’t really suffered.”
[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”3″ ihc_mb_template=”2″ ]
The troubles afflicting law firm clients have translated into pressure on their law firms to replace billable hours with fixed, flat or other alternative fee structures. “Clients are in a stronger position now; they are delaying payments, looking at alternatives to hourly billing and they have the power to impose numerous conditions,” says Pooja Yadava, an associate at PSA Legal Counsellors. “It’s frustrating and disappointing when clients don’t pay or delay payments after months of work. Clients are even delaying payments where fixed flat fees are concerned.”
Some firms have lowered rates to help their clients. “Good clients are not asking for discounts,” says Sumeet Kachwaha at Kachwaha & Partners, “although our European clients are taking five months to pay instead of one month. Chinese clients like to bargain like mad”.
Cost pressures have benefits for lawyers, too: with clients taking stringent action to recover their funds, there has been an increase in corporate finance, debt restructuring, asset reconstruction, employment layoffs and company closures.
Delhi-based Associated Law Advisers recently advised Rolls Royce on its restructuring activities in India. The firm is also working on another restructuring deal for an affiliate company in the same group. Dismantling, rebuilding and reorganizing have replaced the fervent acquisitions and capital expenditure of yesteryear. “Completed deals have blown up into new matters,” explains Saxena at Phoenix Legal.
Painful lessons
Corporate governance has taken a battering, with the Satyam debacle generating international criticism of Indian standards of independent directorship, accounting and auditing. “Every day was a war,” says Amarchand Mangaldas partner Pallavi Shroff, whose firm deployed 15 professionals to work on saving the fractured IT outsourcing company from complete collapse. “We had to understand what Satyam’s visions and deals were, analyse its contracts and its people. The process was closely monitored by the Company Law Board, the Indian government and independent counsel investigations. It was hugely complex – we were dousing fires one by one.”
“The need for transparency and accountability and good corporate governance need not be further reiterated. I expect some improvement in this area,” says Ramni Taneja, a partner at the Law Office of Ramni Taneja.
Private equity also suffered last year, with funds drying up and financing options scarce. However, not all areas of the sector were adversely affected. “The small transactions anywhere from about US$3 million to US$20 million have not been affected at all,” notes Sanjay Asher, a partner at Crawford Bayley & Co.
Lawyers say the growth potential for private equity is phenomenal, especially in agriculture: “Funds are now only looking at agriculture, they are no longer sector-agnostic,” says Manishi Pathak, a partner at Kochhar & Co. A politically sensitive sector, agriculture is a major contributor to India’s huge subsidy bill. The government has announced plans to rehabilitate the ailing Fertilizer Corporation of India and Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation by reviving up to eight closed plants in an effort to reduce dependence on imports from overseas.
Corporations that have incurred severe losses elsewhere in the world are now closely examining entry strategies into India to revive their businesses and regain lost capital. Some law firms have reported fresh investment activity from Europe with companies expressing great interest in setting up Indian subsidiaries. “They are keeping the growth factor in mind and looking at long-term returns,” explains Sumes Dewan, a partner at KR Chawla & Co.
New legislation
With the implementation of India’s new Competition Act, competition law has become an important area of practice for many Indian law firms. “It will be a steep learning curve and clients will have to be told in very concrete terms what is permissible,” says Alka Bharucha, a partner at Bharucha & Partners. Most important, says Bharucha, is that proper precedents are set before the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in order to help the law evolve properly.
Currently many competition complaints are frivolous, laments Anand Pathak, a partner at P&A Law Offices, who recently provided the CCI with training on merger control. “The multiplex dispute was a genuine one, but there have been others which are more like consumer disputes,” he says. “A fundamental challenge will be trying to get regulatory authorities familiar with competition principles.”
Some lawyers insist that domestic companies in particular need education about the new regulations. “Anyone who wants to grow inorganically rather than through greenfield expansion will be impacted,” says Saxena at Phoenix Legal. “The Tatas, Birlas and Reliances will definitely be affected.”
Sridhar Gorthi, a partner at Trilegal, suggests that most Indian corporations will see the competition regime as simply another set of rules to be complied with: “Indians are no strangers to regulations and authorities. They are used to reporting to authorities to gain the necessary approvals. So they will perceive this as a necessary process, not a hurdle.”
Law firms have their own concerns, with the government announcing that lawyers are now liable to pay a 10% tax on their services (see Mukherjee’s mixed bag). While the tax excludes sole proprietors and legal advice to individual clients, law firms with corporate clients are set to feel the pinch. “There is no justification for why we shouldn’t be taxed, but there are double standards,” argues Seema Jhingan, a partner at LexCounsel. “Our services are not acknowledged; we are not allowed to advertise and marketing is prohibited. Even worse, it is unfair on our clients because it makes our services more expensive.”
While some lawyers prepare to fight the new service tax, others are evaluating the new LLP Act, which finally allows law firms to structure themselves as independent entities, limit the liability of their partners, and crucially, expand beyond the current 20-partner limit.
“On the one hand you want to encourage partnership firms by permitting LLP practices, but on the other hand you tax such practices but exempt individual lawyers,” laments Chander Lall, managing partner of IP specialist Lall & Sethi. “Will this not push lawyers to go back to proprietorship concerns?”
Aaron Solomon, a partner at Solomon & Co, predicts that “a considerable number of leading law firms will convert from their existing structures to this new model”.
“The act can change the legal market quite substantially,” says Haigreve Khaitan, managing partner at Khaitan & Co. “It will give Indian firms the chance to expand.”
Banking and finance
As the dark clouds of the financial storm descended worldwide, financing became increasingly difficult to obtain. “Fancy structures have failed and lenders are now in search of real hard securities,” says Abhijit Joshi, a partner at AZB & Partners. “Structures have unwound due to the current circumstances and there is brewing discomfort for deals that were overly structured,” adds Gorthi at Trilegal. “There is now less tolerance for edgy structures.”
The Reserve Bank of India’s additional rules on cross-border lending have seen fewer loans to Indian companies and subsidiaries overseas, observes Mona Bhide, a partner at Dave Girish & Co. With international banks cagey about lending, Indian banks are increasingly stepping in to provide funding: in one example, the State Bank of India in New York provided a guarantee for a US funding, says Dewan at KR Chawla & Co.
“None of the Indian banks have failed!,” Dewan adds. “Even the Indian branches of international banks such as Deutsche Bank and HSBC have been untouched by the financial crisis. Indian banks are becoming more active as global players – previously they were only providing loans domestically.”
Although the heavily regulated domestic banking system has resulted in more gain than pain over the last year, Bhide believes lack of experience among Indian bank officials is a weak point. “Many bank officers in India are still novices at their work,” she says. “The State Bank of India has taken measures to improve its staff capabilities, but more changes are needed. YES Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI and other private banks are doing superbly with their well-educated employees.”
The Pensions Act is likely to prove another promising factor for the financial services sector this year. “It’s a low-key development but it will generate substantial revenue through insurance and pension companies,” says Hemant Sahai, managing partner of Hemant Sahai Associates.
Capital markets
Capital markets practices received a battering last year, with activity in the area severely curbed. “Capital markets is dead,” became a constant refrain, still recited by some lawyers even now, although in fact international listings are picking up speed: “Avon Corporation has listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and global depository receipts are coming back,” says Dewan.
India’s general election, which resulted in a stable coalition government, has boosted market sentiment, with qualified institutional placements, foreign currency convertible bonds and initial public offerings all showing signs of a slow recovery. In one example, timeshare firm Mahindra Holidays & Resorts, part of the Mahindra conglomerate, went public in late June in the first equity offering by a major group in 15 months.
Taxation
India’s 2009 budget promises much work for the country’s tax lawyers. Fringe benefit tax has been abolished and plans have been put in place to introduce a national goods and services tax (GST) by April 2010. The move has been widely welcomed, particularly by foreign investors who have long had to grapple with a web of overlapping taxes, most of which were separately legislated, levied and litigated.
“The way Indian tax is structured, you have a lot going against you if you’re a foreign investor,” notes Akil Hirani, managing partner at Majmudar & Co.
Mergers and acquisitions
M&A work has been lacklustre over the last year. According to Gorthi, India witnessed a precipitous fall in deal volumes, with negotiations breaking down on pricing due to changing promoter expectations. “Glimpses of opportunity are impeding deal flow,” he says. While market sentiment has improved, lawyers still expect a full recovery in the sector to be several months away. “There have been bursts of frenetic [M&A] activity, but the volumes are just not there,” says Bharucha. Nevertheless, strategic M&A deals are slowly regaining favour, with long-term prospects being carefully considered.
“Deal activity has started to pick-up,” says Vishal Gandhi, managing partner of Gandhi & Associates. “However, this time around, deals are taking longer to close; parties are not in a hurry.”
Premnath Rai, managing partner of PRA Law Offices (formerly known as Premnath Rai Associates) believes investor caution is peaking: “Clients are refraining from outright purchases and now prefer to buy a majority stake and purchase the balance over a period of time. The involvement of a company’s current owners continues.” In Rai’s experience, this strategy is aimed at minimizing risks, maximising business opportunity and ensuring that the entire burden does not lie with the purchaser, as in the case of an outright takeover.
Intellectual property
IP has seen mixed activity over the last year. “Fresh filings have dropped dramatically,” says Manisha Singh-Nair, a partner at IP specialist Lex Orbis. Singh-Nair believes the consumer market and levels of research and development are linked: “There is a lack of consumer purchasing power, or at least a slowdown, so there are fewer filings. The launch of new products is also on hold and directly results in a research and development slowdown.”
As standard IP work stalls temporarily new issues are emerging, including violations and infringements on the internet. Conventional principles of law are now being applied to new business models. For example, in the pharmaceutical litigation sector, much activity is taking place. “Innovator pharmaceutical companies are increasingly aware of their rights and are being met with a good success rate in enforcing them,” explains Pravin Anand, managing partner of Anand and Anand.
Patent infringement matters are steadily rising in India, but many argue that enforcement mechanisms are struggling to keep pace with demand. “Designated IP courts are needed – judges require clarity of concept, not just knowledge on how to read sections,” says Hemant Singh, a partner at INTTL Advocare. He urges quick reform: “IP owners face huge commercial injuries which are never properly compensated because the damage is intangible. The government must change the law of damages in IP and the manner in which the damage has to be proved. Quick disposal is the key and it is lacking.”
The detection and prevention of infringement also require action, having been generally ineffective. “India has followed European and global border measures but India has ignored some very fundamental provisions,” says Singh. “The European model places the entire burden on the importer.”
Amarjit Singh, managing partner of Amarjit & Associates, highlights another problem: the entrance of unqualified professionals attempting to launch IP practices. According to Amarjit Singh, full-service law firms which seek to move into IP – whether by setting up IP departments or hiring senior IP lawyers – risk ruining IP law altogether. “These incompetent IP divisions are spoiling the IP practice. They do not understand IP and they are unmindful of the precedents they are setting and the damage they are causing to IP.”
Litigation and dispute resolution
Almost every Indian lawyer with a litigation practice has found some solace during the economic crisis. “There has been an increase in litigation and arbitration,” says Suchitra Chitale, a partner at Chitale & Chitale Partners. However, Joshi points out that clients’ motivations are not always clear: “More than resolution, it’s a negative tactic. Those stuck with lopsided contracts will want delays, which litigation tends to create. They are not necessarily looking to resolve their disputes.”
“Dispute resolution has gone from bad to worse”, says Lalit Bhasin, managing partner of Bhasin & Co. “The number of cases both in courts and in arbitration is going up considerably without any satisfactory disposal. The rate of disposal continues to be dismal.”
“People don’t understand the Indian legal market,” adds Ranji Dua, managing partner of Dua & Associates. “98% of the profession is in the courts and work there has not diminished. People are no longer able to enjoy the luxury of frivolous litigation – this may be the silver lining of the economic crisis. Litigation produces more robust lawyers, but corporate work produces more money. In five years you’ll find lawyers going back to robust counsel, back to a little of that profession after the dirty linen of the financial crisis has been washed.”
Defence
Strengthening the defence sector – which has received widespread media attention, particularly since the US-India defence pact was signed on 20 July (see India-US arms pact given ammunition) – is a core priority of India’s new government. “This year is going to be a turning point for the Ministry of Defence,” says Priti Suri, managing partner of PSA Legal Counsellors. Foreign capital for the procurement of arms and ammunition has bounced back in 2009 after slowing last year, while defence clients have been extremely active in examining India entry strategies. Defence procurement has received renewed government emphasis.
Players like Thales, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are hankering for a share of the Indian defence market. “They are seeking opinions on various clauses, off-setting or contracting to Indian parties and Foreign Investment Promotion Board applications,” says Gautam Khaitan, managing partner at OP Khaitan & Co. “Nuclear and defence work are huge vistas that have come in,” adds Dua.
Energy and infrastructure
India’s dire need for improved infrastructure continues to propel the development and funding of projects and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the sector. “Pursuant to the budget, infrastructure has been put on high priority … government policy has bolstered this sector, and the PPP mantra is progressing,” says Venkatesh Prasad, a partner at J Sagar Associates.
Power, transport, water, roads, highways, ports, sanitation and housing have been underlined as major concerns. “The government is trying to revive core industries,” says Ravi Singhania, managing partner of Singhania & Partners. “The appetite for large investments exists in strategic sectors.”
“The major port at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh has been commissioned, as has the Mumbai Sea Link,” says Darius Udwadia, a partner at Mumbai-based Udwadia & Udeshi. “But other major infrastructure projects, for example the Kannur airport, have been put on hold or are on a ‘go slow’.”
Jhingan at LexCounsel has encountered difficulties with power projects. “We haven’t been able to do in the power sector what we managed to do in telecoms,” she says. “We’ve been disgusted by bureaucracy in India. The Dabhol project has stifled the power revolution in India. There is a realization now of what we’ve done.” The government is taking measures to address the lethargic power sector. “The Ministry of Power is revising bidding documents for ultra-mega power projects as large as 200 megawatts,” says says Som Mandal, managing partner at FoxMandal Little. “We have seen a lot of queries from Japan about investments in infrastructure.” Bijesh Thakker, managing partner of Thakker & Thakker in Mumbai, also highlights the enormous potential for infrastructure opportunities through economic resource-sharing partnerships between India and Canada.
Green energy solutions – such as biomass, solar power, wind and hydro projects – represent another key growth area. However, problems with purchasing arrangements continue to plague these initiatives. “Power purchase agreements are difficult to obtain, we need to be able to get them at a faster pace,” says Mandal. “We have the technology, it is the financing that is the problem. The government should run a pilot project and sponsor such initiatives, coming up with a system of subsidy for the first five years.”
Retail
Investors overseas continue to keep their eye on the retail market in India in anticipation of further liberalization in the sector. Yet there in disagreement over how international retailers are faring. “Luxury brands are doing well,” says Thakker. “DKNY, Tod’s, Givenchy, Dior and Louis Vuitton are all expanding in India.”
Thakore disagrees: “With the slowdown, spending power has disappeared. Argos has ended its plans with the Rahejas, Mothercare is virtually exiting and luxury-brand stores are empty. You don’t see a single soul in there. High-cost products are a niche market. The Indian consumer at the end of the day looks for value for money. Thums Up is still more profitable than Coke today.”
According to Thakore, consumers who can afford to travel will buy their merchandise overseas: “If a luxury brand opens three stores in India, is that really a business model? There is total uncertainty as to whether multi-brand retail will be permitted and the way in which real estate with regards to retail works is unclear. No one can plan a business model on that basis.”
Real estate
Despite the recent slump in the real estate sector, some lawyers believe there is great potential for a revival. “Real estate development has to continue,” argues Hamid Moochhala, a partner at Wadia Ghandy & Co. “You have to house the whole of India, so that work will continue. The prime minister is for affordable housing, so there are a lot of innovative ideas coming in. With this boom, steel and raw materials will grow immensely.”
Education and healthcare
Until recently the education sector was rarely talked about by Indian lawyers. However, the anticipated deregulation of the sector is expected to pave the way for foreign universities to set up in the country. “This will be a very, very big area of practice once the sector opens up,” says Dewan. “Initially, private equity investors were looking to put their funds in biotechnology and IT, but over the last year all of them want to invest in education and healthcare,” agrees Jhingan. “Education is dismal in India, but I don’t think we will see much de-regulation in this financial year. Nothing’s a windfall in India; the government wants to play it safe.” However, Jhingan adds “The foreign education bill is expected in parliament very soon.”
“We have a very large young population in India, so reforms will bring enormous opportunities in the sector,” says Rustam Gagrat, managing partner at Gagrats.
Healthcare is another emerging sector. In the first quarter of this year, YES Bank, advised by PRA Law Offices, arranged the Rs5 billion (US$100 million) debt requirement of Global Health’s multi-specialty hospital project in Gurgaon. The 1,250 bed hospital, to be known as Medicity, is promoted by renowned cardiac thoracic surgeon Naresh Trehan.
Pathak at Kochhar & Co explains that medical tourism is another recent growth area. Indian institutions are tying up with Asian travel and hospital entities to provide high-quality medical treatment in India, which patients can enjoy at lower costs than in the West. The services are often bundled together with holiday packages, providing a boost for the country’s travel and hospitality industry, a sector in which a wave of development and consolidation would be widely welcomed.
“Currently, except for a few big players, the hospitality sector is more or less an unorganised one,” says Ashish Bhakta, a partner at Kanga & Co. “There is a dearth of hotels,” adds Saxena at Phoenix Legal, “and great pressure in this area because such accommodation and luxury facilities will be a critical element for the success of the Commonwealth Games, which India will host in 2010”.
Legal process outsourcing
No analysis of India’s legal market would be complete without considering a new breed of legal service provider, the legal process outsourcer, or LPO. Multinational companies are increasingly seeking to slash costs by outsourcing their legal work, and India has emerged as the preferred destination for such services. Rio Tinto is but the latest high-profile company to outsource its work to India (see Rio looks to India to slash legal bills), suggesting that LPO providers can expect a steady increase of work over the next few years. While LPOs celebrate, some more traditional lawyers remain sceptical. “I am totally against legal process outsourcing,” says Suri at PSA Legal Counsellors. “It’s really not the practise of law. Ultimately it all boils down to saving on costs. There’s no challenge and I’m completely against templates. Even if it’s a trademark application, if foreign countries are involved, there are foreign direct investment concerns, prior search, etc. There’s so much to consider beyond the template.”
Suri concludes: “LPO is a good business proposition for some, but to me, the practise of law has always been about the thrill of standing in court in front of a judge and putting forward an argument to help the law evolve. There is no application in legal process outsourcing.”
“LPO providers will keep going up the value chain,” says Nath at Rajinder Narain & Co. “Clients will think, ‘Why not outsource?’ However, progress stops intellectually and financially at an outsourcing operation after five or eight years.”
Not all lawyers are critical of LPOs. H Jayesh, founder partner at Juris Corp, believes the industry provides scope for worthy innovation in legal service provision: “There is the merit of someone not involved in a matter, dispassionately reviewing something – that is the real high-end work.”
The outlook for law firms
For many Indian firms, the downturn has provided a welcome opportunity to reorganize and restructure. Delhi-based Luthra & Luthra, for example, has implemented a radical shakeup of its partnership and governance structure. The firm is converting to a lockstep model of partnership which will see salaried partners take a share in the equity. “I am convinced that it will enhance and widen our growth trajectory,” said Rajiv Luthra, the firm’s managing partner.
Many other firms have implemented similar changes and there is widespread agreement that the level of professionalism among Indian law firms is increasing. But despite the improvements, some observers claim that more needs to be done to bring Indian law firms up to the standards of their international peers.
From Dubey’s perspective, Indian law firms continue to operate as a group of self-serving individuals, regardless of their structure. “There are no law firms, they are lies, it’s a myth,” he says. “It’s a bunch of proprietors. Fragmentation is the nature of the beast and a compulsion of the market.”
Gautam Khaitan takes Dubey’s criticism further: “We are not disciplined in our transparency and attitude,” he says. “We are a group of proprietors that work together. In India, the thinking is always ‘I should get more than I deserve’.”
“The Indian mindset is one of a troubleshooter – there is a lack of proactive advice,” says Manoj Singh. “But this is changing into more consultancy-driven advice rather than simply remedial or corrective measures.”
“We still have a long way to go,” adds Haigreve Khaitan. “Indians have great ideas but poor systems of execution.”
A key factor motivating the drive for greater professionalism is the perceived threat that Indian law firms face from their international counterparts. Although still prohibited from opening offices in India, foreign firms continue to find innovative ways of tapping the country’s burgeoning legal market. Many have created large India teams in Singapore, London or Hong Kong, while others have ventured into the market through the establishment of tie-ups with local firms.
The most recent tie up is that between Clyde & Co and Mumbai-based ALMT Legal (see Clyde sets stage for Indian wedding). It follows a string of similar deals such as those between AZB & Partners and Clifford Chance, Talwar Thakore Associates and Linklaters, and Trilegal and Allen & Overy. There is speculation that many of the tie-ups may lead to full-scale mergers if and when such moves are permitted.
“Cooperation will happen,” says Dua at Dua & Associates. However, “merging is not necessary. If you’re successful you’re not greedy.”
The alliance model will not be the norm, predicts Akil Hirani: “There will be cherry-picking for lawyers, not firms, it will be a free-for-all where people, not entities, will be the focus.”
Brus Chambers’ partner Shrikant Hathi offers a different view: “The main purpose of foreign firm tie-ups in India is to have their work processed more cheaply, like a legal process outsourcing operation, not to win Indian clients. It’s all about the labour arbitrage.”
“Who needs a tie-up?” asks Nishith Desai, managing partner at Nishith Desai Associates. “We’ve confined ourselves to highly complex matters and of our clients, 70% are international – why would we need another law firm?”
The drive for greater professionalism and the question of whether and how to cooperate with foreign firms are just two of the issues that will weigh heavily on the minds of Indian lawyers over the coming months. However, many will be spurred on by the promise of a rosy future for India and its legal profession.
“In the short term, things look gloomy, but things look bright in the long term,” says Joshi at AZB & Partners. “Every cycle has a challenge and opportunity. A successful business practice has to be able to survive both highs and lows.”
[/ihc-hide-content]
