Budget's message to investors rather regressive: Porinju Veliyath

Mumbai, July 19: The government's Budget 2019-20 lays out a long-term vision but the message it gives to the larger investment community is rather regressive, veteran investor Porinju Veliyath has said.

In a letter written to the investor community on Thursday, Veliyath, who runs a portfolio management service, said several measures taken by the present government had hit the economy and the markets.

"The government's noble and welcome efforts to strengthen tax base, improve traceability, reduce black money and corruption seem to have choked the economy for the near term, more than anyone anticipated," Veliyath said.

He said the government was not acknowledging the cardinal principles of a free market economy and that the longevity of the ongoing bear market in mid and small caps of this magnitude had been "astounding to even the most seasoned equity investors".

Besides, the positives of the continuity in government had been lost with the market's unfriendly provisions in Budget, at least for the near term.

"The IL&FS scam, instead of getting resolved, has spread to other major NBFCs and banks. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process has been entangled in judicial processes and is frustratingly slow," he added.