India must open up to be global power: Eric Fishwick, CLSA

NEW DELHI: CLSA Chief Economist Eric Fishwick believes the Indian economy has become big enough to drive global growth, but the country has its own set of macro concerns currently

Talking to media on the sidelines of a CLSA event, Fishwick said the credit crunch in the system over the last 12 months has accentuated slowdown in India.

"India needs to open up its economy a lot more, if it wants to become a global power," Fishwick noted.

The CLSA economist felt that the products covered under China-backed RCEP were backward-looking from an economic sense. He said China is openly using all opportunities to increase its geopolitical influence.

Fishwick expects US and China to hammer out a trade deal in December, but believes it is unlikely to include any substantial rollback of tariffs.

"US-China trade tensions have substantially contributed to the global slowdown and there is little chance of US-China trade ties returning to old levels," he said.

The CLSA economist believes the end of the US economic upturn is very close, with robust consumer sentiment and profits sending a clear warning signal. Corporate sentiment in US is already falling, Fishwick noted.

"The deceleration in the US economic growth may worsen by the next year and financial markets might call it a recession, but it will actually be a slow growth trajectory," he insisted.

He estimated China's growth to fall to 5.5-6 per cent level by FY22.