TMS Ep280: NPCI's international unit, 5G delay, realty stocks, equity funds

The National Payments Corporation of India's international unit has signed a string of deals over the past two years with foreign companies and central banks to internationalise India's homegrown digital payments system, UPI. Most of these deals will help Indians travelling abroad to pay using UPI, while Nepal has adopted UPI as a domestic payment system. Some other agreements relate to cross-border payments. This raises the question. Can the UPI payment system become a global service? 

As UPI tries to find a foothold worldwide, back in India, another service is trying to scale up. Airtel and Reliance Jio launched the much-awaited 5G services in select cities. The rollout has not been as fast as expected, and most users can't experience the service yet. A concerned government even summoned the top telcos, smartphone makers and other infra providers to understand the reasons for the slow rollout. 

Even as the 5G rollout is hobbled, there is no such worry for the world of realty stocks. After withstanding the pandemic-wrought downtrend, the sun shines brightly upon the realty sector on the back of strong affordability, upbeat demand, and manageable inventory levels. But will the rate-sensitive sector face a challenge because of rising interest rates, or will it brave through the rate hike storm? 

Realty stocks may be sensitive to rate hikes, while telecom stocks may reflect the difficulties in expanding 5G services. And what about equity funds? How should you select one? What should you keep in mind? This episode of the podcast answers the question and more.