Editor’s Sidelines, October 2021: India Ascendant

This month we present our annual list of India’s 100 Richest. It’s a journalistic tradition that dates back to 2004, when Forbes Global, the precursor to Forbes Asia, published the first India rich list. Then as now, this list has been diligently overseen for 17 years by Naazneen Karmali, Asia wealth editor and India editor.

The country has come a long way since 2004. This year’s list affirms India’s continued ascendancy. The collective wealth of India’s top 100 wealthiest is up an astounding 50% from the 2020 list to a record $775 billion. India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is worth $92.7 billion. Back in 2004, Mukesh together with his brother Anil Ambani were listed at No. 3 with a combined fortune of $6.4 billion, behind No. 1 Lakshmi Mittal with $11.2 billion and No. 2 Azim Premji with $10 billion. 

This month’s cover story is on Pawan Munjal of Hero MotoCorp, who has a net worth of $3.8 billion. His late father Brijmohan Lall Munjal was also on the first list, ranked No. 16 at $760 million, based on his wealth from founding India’s largest producer of motorcycles. 

Munjal has continued Hero’s market dominance established by his father, but now must embrace a paradigm shift to electric vehicles (EVs) to replace gas-powered ones. While still nascent, India’s market for two-wheeled electric transportation is growing fast, and Munjal vows to transform Hero into the country’s leading two-wheeled EV producer. 

It’s stories like these that help explain why, despite the pandemic, Indian stocks have been flying high of late. More insights into India’s key economic and financial indicators can be found in this month’s Wealth Creation, our regular column that delves into the factors of wealth creation in an economy. 

India’s rosy picture stands in contrast to recent woes in China. A massive wealth destruction is underway in some sectors there as Beijing imposes restrictions on many companies—a process exacerbated by power shortages and the multibillion-dollar train wreck known as Evergrande.

The situation in China highlights the opportunities not just in India but also Southeast Asia, a region whose profile is on the rise in the global investment community, as editor at large Rich Karlgaard covers in his Tech Connector column.

This issue’s other main feature is on Straits Trading’s Chew Gek Khim in Singapore, who long ago perceived the value of underappreciated assets in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. She has shown it’s still possible to create sustainable profits from a company that’s 133 years old, including a legacy Malaysian tin mining and smelting operation. 

From motorcycles in India to tin in Malaysia, Forbes Asia holds fast to its long-term commitment to covering Asia’s rise in the global business community.

As always, all comments welcome at editor@forbesasia.com.