Dear Financial Voice Reader,
Should you invest in India? You want to do good by the beloved country of your forefathers after all. If so how? I wrote a piece about investing in India and Dinesh Dhamija of eBookers commented how hard he found it to invest there (that’s putting it politely). India needs investors like Dinesh. Lord Noon has publicly stated how disappointed he has been in the past with the attitude of some officials in India on investing. India needs Lord Noon.
My father-in-law invested in property in Delhi, through Assotech Realty Pvt Ltd, only to be asked for more money for a smaller area thereafter. He has pursued the company only to discover unsavoury facts about the firm and how they treat investors. Contacting Indian authorities such as ‘Advisor NRI Department & Externally Aided Projects Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh’ where the property resides met with distinct disinterest and indeed threats against using the media to publicise the issue; yet the drum goes on for investment from NRIs, but disinterest when they face problems ‘as a private matter’ and reference to phantom non-existent regulators whose details they refuse to disclose despite numerous requests.
So dear investor bewarned. Some suggestions:
- Invest only through reputable sources – such a funds (and even then make sure they are reputed)
- Investing in land or property – make sure you know the people selling intimately, preferably all their friends and family too on social media. Know that in the age of Twitter,
- Class action law-suits in the civil courts, in parallel to criminal proceedings and social media campaigns as well as political leverage brought to bear are the only way to go sometimes. You have to inform, as is your legitimate right the customers, the bankers, the accountants, the regulators, the auditors, the fellow shareholders and the friends and family via social media of the directors of their wrongdoing. Informing British an EU authorities is vital to ensure such companies are de facto blacklisted from operating in these territories and their officials unable to travel in the region. Hell hath no fury like a retired investor with time.
