Killol Pandya, head of fixed income at Daiwa Asset Management and Lakshmi Iyer, Head of Product & Fixed Income – Kotak Mutual Fund, talk to Businessworld's Tanushree Pillai about the nuances of debt mutual funds – where your money is invested, what kind of returns should one expect and how long should one remain invested.What are the different kinds of debt mutual funds that are available for retail investors?Pandya: Mutual fund schemes which invest in debt instruments fulfill several investor needs. There are Liquid and ultra short term funds which are oriented at the Institutional and semi- Institutional segment and provide good returns and overnight liquidity to the investors. For investors having a slightly longer investment horizon, there are short term debt funds. For investors who have a medium to long term investment view, there are Medium term and income funds. Some investors have a pre-determined investment horizon; these investors can use the Fixed Maturity Plan (FMP) route to make meaningful investments. We also have debt oriented hybrid funds by way of MIPs etc which provide a good asset mix for investors who have a larger risk-return appetite.Iyer: The Indian mutual funds industry offers a range of investment avenues through debt funds, servicing a spectrum of investors; be it for investors with short-term horizon of as little as a day, or for long-term holdings.Consequently we have liquid funds, short-term debt funds, and long-term bond/gilt funds. Over and above that, close ended debt funds (also termed as FMPs/QIPs) are also a key retail offering.Mutual funds also offer hybrid debt funds, which are recognized as monthly income plans and balance funds. These funds primarily are mix of various asset classes which are devised to cater to specific investment needs of investors.Please elaborate each one and how different it is from the other?Pandya: Different Mutual Fund (MF) schemes provide different risk-return profiles. They also represent a different profiles in terms of investment horizons of investors. In that sense, each of the debt MF products provide value to the investors at discrete points on the Risk-Return-Investment horizon matrix.What kind of allocation (percentage wise) should retail investors go for (keeping in mind a certain age bracket) Pandya: Allocation of money in different MF products does not only depend on the age of the investor. More importantly, it is a function of where we are placed on the interest rate cycle. As things stand now, we appear to be at the end of the interest tightening cycle. We are likely to experience a period of interest rate stability before the rates begin to soften. So, we advise retail investors to stay invested in debt funds while keeping about half their money at the shorter end of the curve (liquid and ultra short term funds) and venture out towards products which are longer on the yield curve with the balance money put in a calibrated manner.Iyer: That is dependent on the investor's investment profile and objectives. It is a function of interest rate cycle. If signs of peaking are visible debt should increase towards long duration funds and vice-versa. Over and above that, the investors can also generate competitive returns by investing their excess cash balances in liquid funds.What are the benefits of debt mutual funds?Pandya: The very nature of the underlying instruments such as money market instruments, sovereign bonds and debentures indicate a pre-determined fund flow. While debt markets are exposed to interest risks, reinvestment risks and market risks, the impact of these risks can be managed in a relatively better manner. Empirical evidence suggests that debt markets are relatively less volatile than equity or forex markets. The inherent stability, relative probability of protecting capital and making some returns thereon, is the key advantage of debt funds.Iyer: A relative regularity of return and performance vis-à-vis the other asset classes is one of the key advantages of the debt mutual funds. Other than that, the risk on capital invested is far reduced (provided the fund is invested in creditworthy instruments) vis-à-vis the other asset classes. Thus the possibility of a capital loss in fixed income investment is very low. Also, if the debt investments are timed with the peaking of the interest rate cycle, the investors have the potential to make modest capital gains. Given today's high interest rate scenario, what kind of returns are debt MFs giving?Pandya: Currently, debt funds are giving one month returns ranging from 8 per cent to 20 per cent, depending on the underlying asset class and the investment period involved. These returns may be a product of investments at high yields as well as profits booked on account of the significant softening seen in Gilt market yields. When should a retail investor think of investing in debt MFs?Pandya: I do not subscribe to the policy of trying to 'time' the debt markets. I hold that debt fund investments ought to be a perennial feature of every retail portfolio. As I have already shared with you, debt funds provide a range of investment solutions and retail investors may find value in a combination of the offerings at all points in time.Iyer: An investor can invest into the debt funds in almost any kind of market or circumstance. However, the investor is advised to calibrate across the short and the long duration funds according to the interest rate environment prevalent. When the interest rates have peaked, the long duration funds, in a 1-year timeframe, tend to be relatively better performers. On the other hand, in a rising interest rate environment, money market funds are more advisable. Whereas, in a range bound market, short duration debt funds find more traction. The unique thing about debt funds is that there are products available for every business and interest rate cycle. In the past year, how have the returns of debt MFs varied and why?Pandya: Debt MF returns are always subject to market risks and more importantly to interest rate risks. As a rule of thumb, interest rates hardening leads to a drop in debt MF returns. In the past 6 to 8 quarters, we have seen about 13 hikes from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) amounting to a total of about 375 bps. This was a natural fallout of the interest tightening regime seen by our economy during the period. In such a scenario, it is difficult for debt funds to outperform. However, funds which were oriented at the shortest end of the curve (viz. Liquid and ultra short term funds) have managed to give relatively better returns throughout the period.What type of debt instruments do debt MFs invest in?Pandya: Debt funds may invest in near cash assets such as CBLO & reverse repo, Money Market instruments such as Treasury Bills, Commercial Papers and Certificates of Deposits as well as instruments such as sovereign bonds, Debentures, Pass through certificates, Fixed Deposits and other allied structured debt obligations. In addition, debt funds may use debt derivatives such as Overnight Index Swap (OIS) to hedge their portfolios subject to SEBI guidelines. Debt oriented hybrid funds may also invest in additional asset classes such as Equities and gold subject to the profile of the offering.As a percentage of the total MF pie, how much are debt MFs?Pandya: As per the AMFI's monthly data of category-wise assets under management as on December 31, 2011, debt mutual funds which include Liquid/Money Market Funds, Income and Gilt Funds form approximate 70% the total industry AUM. What kind of returns is expected from debt MFs in the next six months?Returns given by Mutual Funds are always subject to market risks and dependent on a number of factors. The returns given by debt MFs in the coming months shall primarily depend on the interest cycle. The speed and strength of movement by the RBI in terms of reference rates shall be the primary driver behind debt fund returns. In addition, WPI inflation, rupee movements and the upcoming budget shall be watched in order to determine the expected returns. Nonetheless, it may be fair to state that 2012 (calendar) may be better for debt funds than 2011 was and debt MF returns may approach double digit returns in the current calendar.Where would you invest your money in, given the current scenario?Pandya: As I have stated earlier, we appear to be at the end of the interest tightening cycle. We are likely to experience a period of interest rate stability before the rates begin to soften. As a function of this, we advise retail investors to stay invested in debt funds while keeping about half of their monies at the shorter end of the curve (Liquid and ultra short term funds) and venture out towards products which are longer on the yield curve with the balance monies albeit in a calibrated manner. However, I hold that it may not be possible for the retail investor to keep track of the markets on his own. In such cases, I would recommend a dynamic fund. Such funds permit the Fund Manager to seamlessly move across the yield curve and alter the portfolio's duration in order to optimise returns for the investor while also keeping a check on the risks involved.Iyer: The nature and scale of investment must almost always be a function of individual's investment objective and risk-return profile. Having said that, in the current economic environment, the steep slack in the gdp growth and a rapidly declining inflation; presents the possibility of a gradual downward rate-revision over the course of next 12 months. Moreover, the renewed FII interest in India, as demonstrated by the approximstely $5 billion net inflow into the domestic capital markets, also indicates of a possible change in the equity market circumstance in the year ahead. Consequently, we would prefer the equity allocations to be in the 20-35 per cent range, with predominant allocation for large-cap funds. The allotment of these investments through the means of SIP may prove to be an additional risk mitigating factor. Moreover, the investor can look to have a skew towards short term funds & FMPs on the debt portion with some position in the long duration space, so as to position oneself for possible capital gain opportunities in the year ahead. The investor can also look to obtain around 5-15% exposure in safe-haven (traditionally) asset like gold by means of Gold ETF and/or Gold Fund of Funds.
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Are you looking for a domestic help? The wait has ended now with the launch of Domestic Robots by Milagrow HumanTech. The company believes that humans serving humans for petty tasks are now outdated and using robots will soon be the way to be. This new range of domestic robots will help catalyse this into a trend and will steadily cascade into a revolution. In many developed nations, robots have been used for industrial purposes for many years, but they are now being rapidly adopted for domestic purposes. Last year, the share of domestic robots rose to an all-time record high of almost 60 per cent in terms of unit sales.Rajeev Karwal, Founder and CEO, Milagrow, says that "domestic help is becoming expensive as people have less time with working spouse, the population is increasing and so is petty crime. Domestic Robots can easily meet the resultant needs of the consumer arising from the above." Three powerful home cleaning robots will now work hard to protect Indian homes from germs and dust - RedHawk (Rs 16,990), BlackCat (Rs 15,990) and Robocop (Rs 9990). They can clean all types of surfaces from marble to carpet to wood, and can easily go re-charge themselves in between cleaning cycles. These robotic cleaners have been specially customised for the Indian consumer with higher suction power, all surface cleaning capability and larger dustbin trays."When the battery falls below the 15 per cent level, the robot will automatically go back to its charging dock, charge itself and then go back to cleaning." Karwal added.Powered by six cleaning modes such as spot, zigzag and wall-to-wall cleaning, these robots have been thoughtfully designed to be compact so that they can easily navigate under beds, sofas and other furniture where cleaning is often neglected because of the physical discomfort that comes along. Robots are available at all the leading modern retailers and leading e-commerce websites.
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"Tees maar, Khan! 29SlapsPending," says a Tweet on the micro-blogging site, Twitter. Shah Rukh Khan's headline grabbing and Twitter-trending slap may have shaken up a lot more than the person at the receiving end. The moment of madness and the ensuing media frenzy post that incident, would have also send the shivers down the several brand managers who have put a million bucks on the star to endorse their brands. As images of an angry Shah Rukh storming out of a party organized to celebrate Sanjay Dutt's portrayal of Kancha Cheena in Agneepath splashed across media, overnight the affable SRK was looking more ominous than the villain Kancha, who's success they had gathered to toast.For years, SRK's on-screen antics have endeared him to the millions of fans, stretching his appeal across the spectrum from the toddler to the grandmom. This naturally had a positive rub-off for the brands that took him on as an ambassador. Even SRK never let an opportunity pass to send the message across to his real audience, the ad agencies. In a pep talk to ad agencies at the AdAsia2011 summit last November, SRK told the delegates: "Brands in totality are an extension of myself. I wake up to the alarm on my Tag Heuer, check messages on my Nokia N7, sit on a D'Decor couch, slip into a Belmonte Suit, watch TV on a Videocon set, used my Linc pen to make notes for this speech, and I got energy this morning from a generous helping of Emami Sona Chandi Chyawanprash...." The Monday morning misadventure has certainly taken away a bit off gloss and sheen from that carefully cultivated appeal. And it would not be very brave for a brand owner to back someone who could potentially turn into Bollywood's new enfant terrible. Globally, brands have steered clear of a certain Lindsay Lohan, unless you are a casino company like Bodog. Closer home, brands were not too keen to associate with Salman Khan when the actor was under trial in a blackbuck poaching case or when the car that he was allegedly driving mowed down people sleeping on a Mumbai pavement. The recent string of successes at the box office have ensured that Salman is back in the reckoning for brands. Mobile handset brand Blackberry was among the latest to have signed him on.Shah Rukh, a star who has built his career on the back of not just the box office success, but also through endorsements, live shows et al, is too astute an ambassador to realise the dangers of his public display of anger. Perhaps the much publicized kiss and make up the following day with Shirish Kunder, the director who faced SRK's ire, was an admission of that.
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India is one of the fastest growing internet markets in the world. Internet users in India are likely to grow by 5 times in 2015. Out of a projected 450 million users, about 75 per cent are expected to make use of mobile internet services. With a 15 per cent quarter on quarter growth of mobile internet penetration, it is clear that the Indian internet market is on an upward curve. Telecom operators in India have paid an extensive spectrum fee for 3G and BWA (4G), adding to that the infrastructure and roll-out costs, it becomes clear that data services in India will not be cheap if any decent return on investment (ROI) time is envisaged by telecom operators. India is an extremely price conscious market where the mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) has been on a steady path of decline over the years. Challenged with decreasing ARPU and strong competition, operators need to satisfy their customers' demand for expansion and new technologies with reduction in costs and operating expenses despite huge payouts for spectrum and roll-outs. Also, Indian operators are yet to find the "magic formula" to drive the tsunami of data and video in this market the way the Apple iPhone explosion in the US fuelled massive explosion of data and video usage. This is where Wi-Fi provides one of the most robust solutions to fuel the growth of video and data. The three main parameters required are: Proliferation of Wi-Fi enabled devices. Nearly 100 per cent of smartphones coming into the market have a Wi-Fi chipsets Large coverage of hotspots to that people can access the internet Services and applications such as Youtube and social networking that require large bandwidth at an affordable price. Once the explosion happens across all technologies such as 3G, 4G etc, Wi-Fi offloading will be required to tackle the choke points in the operator's network. When we talk of raw data usage, it not the 'total capacity' that causes congestion, it is the peak capacity. 15 per cent of cell sites manage 50 per cent traffic in urban areas and even so, the load is not evenly distributed in the network. There are two key congestion points in the network:Air interface: With just 5 MHz of spectrum allocated in India to be shared between voice and data, air interface would get congested very quickly as mobile data in India is slated to have the fastest growth rate in India at 222 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) which translates to 350 fold increase by 2014.Backhaul traffic: Even if the air-interface is congestion free, the dilapidated T1/E1 infrastructure is just not cut out to handle modern day data traffic. As such, the backhaul needs to be upgraded to microwave, fiber, or light networks (or a combination of the three) to have enough capacity and data economics to make the data growth worthwhile for the operators. Apart from data congestion, smart phones introduce signaling congestion as well since smart phones generate 8X more signaling than feature phones. Wi-Fi offloading tackles air interface congestion by freeing up expensive licensed 3G Spectrum resources so that the operator can handle more subscribers with limited spectrum. Offloading tackles backhaul congestion by not taking the mobile data and signaling traffic back to the operator's core network. Wi-Fi serves as the most cost-effective and technologically mature solution for operators. The cost savings associated with offload are significant as operators deploying an offload strategy can expect savings in the range of 70-80 per cent per annum. Of the top 10 densest cities in the world, 3 are in India which puts further strain on 3G bandwidth. For example, a city like Hyderabad would need the same number of base stations to cover the city as is required to cover the whole of Singapore. In the US market, operators will save between $30 and $40 billion per annum by 2013 through an offload strategy. Due to the increase in demand for speed, quality and ubiquitous connectivity, Wi-Fi hotspots hold appeal as a standalone proposition as well as a complimenting service to the existing telecom networks.If one compares Wi-Fi with other data connectivity services such as GSM, 3G, WiMax, LTE etc, Wi-Fi operates in an unregulated free spectrum band and provides significantly higher bandwidth compared to other technologies. As a result, operators are viewing Wi-Fi as an offload medium for their high bandwidth applications. Most operators in their data strategies have concluded that Wi-Fi has to be core to their network architecture due to factors such as lower cost of ownership, high volume of Wi-Fi enabled devices in the market, service experience etc. Also, in today's time a higher percentage of devices in the market are Wi-Fi enabled as compared to the percentage of 3G enabled devices which is still very low. Globally 30 per cent of all phones will have Wi-Fi in them by 2013, and 42 per cent by 2015. The proportion of Wi-Fi enabled mobile phone owners who use the facility on their devices is expected to reach 80 per cent by 2015.At present O-Zone Networks is the only public Wi-Fi network that is ready for 3G offloading today in terms of integrating with the operator's authentication and billing systems (for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers) to enable a seamless experience for the user . We have established synergies with a number of national and international service providers such as Airtel, Aircel, iPass, Boingo and Comfone.References :Chetan Sharma ConsultingCisco VNI Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast UpdateThe author is CEO, O-Zone Networks
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The telecom Industry is a worried lot. Monday was the last day for submission of inputs and suggestion for the National Telecom Policy 2011 to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). But the DoT website remained out of bounds for the whole day. The industry was very keen to send its inputs on Monday, especially after the Communication Minister Kapil Sibal announced on Sunday in a public forum that NTP 2011 will be introduced in the Cabinet for approval before placing it in the parliament. The industry had been keeping the cards close to its chest and had waited till the last day as each waited for the other to make a comment. So the failure of the DoT website to open had taken the industry by surprise as they had been hoping to discuss it further before any legislative measure is taken. Secretary DoT, R Chandrasekhar, said recently that anextension would be allowed so that the operators could have their say.Senior communications ministry officials were hounded by the industry representatives on Monday to get the DoT website fixed, but till the time this report was filed, the DoT website failed to open. Industry representatives told the Communications Ministry officials, that they should be allowed to make a comment or observation, even if the last day happened to be a holiday. Officials in the Communications Ministry ended up not receiving any hard copy since the comments were to be received online till November 7, 2011. The Draft NTP 2011 released by Sibal received flak from the stakeholders, as it failed to give a clear road map. It also did not spell out the programme and policies to resolve vexed issued in the sector, like mergers and acquisitions (M&A). It was left to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to come out with a recommendation paper on the subject. The Communications Ministry will have a deliberation on this paper, said a senior official, but refused to comment if it will go as part of NTP or as a separate administrative decision. But Sibal speaking at the Economic Editors Conference held recently in Delhi said: "We work in parallel, NTP 2011 and others issues that need urgent attention." The issue is likely to become a hot issue for the government that is already under attack for lack of transparency in telecom deals.
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Of late, Gopal Agrawal, CIO at Mirae Asset Mutual Fund has been busy readjusting his portfolio — selling defensive and export-oriented stocks — and getting into high beta stocks in sector like metal, energy, capital good and engineering and construction. The reason: Risk appetite is back into equities.The year has started on a bumper note for the Indian equity market with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) gaining nearly 12 per cent to close above 17,000 in January 2012. This was on back of the $2.2-billion record inflow of money from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) into Indian equities. In the last 10 years, this is the highest ever FII inflow for the month of January. "It's a global rally and we (India) are a part of it. Risk appetite towards equities is returning and therefore markets across the globe have rallied," says Agrawal who manages equities worth Rs 400 crore.Agrawal says, the recent long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) success in the Europe has brought back the confidence among investors and that is the reason why risk premium towards equity has gone up. Concerns over China going for a land landing fading away also helped improve sentiment in the global market. Though he says the reason why Indian markets have rallied more compared to its Asian peers is, "Signs of growth are coming back. The factors that pulled the equity market in 2011 have reversed with inflation coming down, easing in interest rates and importantly improvement in liquidity." The 50 basis points (bps) cut in cash reserve ratio (CRR) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and its statement on peaking out of interest rates which in turn further appreciated the Indian rupee has helped propel the market.FII flows have evidently pulled up the market, but the money has predominantly come into large-cap stocks. The BW Expert Index and the BW Dartboard Index which are more of a multi-cap index gained 9 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively, but underperformed the board-based National stock Exchange's CNX Nifty Fifty Index that gained 12 per cent. In our special ‘The Where To Invest Issue' dated 23 January 2012 we had constructed the BW Index for our readers and in this context this is the first update where we are analyzing the index that has been prepared and is maintained by Gurgaon-based Indxx Capital Management Services.The low-hanging fruits have been plucked and Indian equities have normalized from an oversold market valuation position. So the question is what next? Where are we heading and will the rally continue? Despite fears regarding Europe continuing to persist, experts feel this market has legs to sustain the rally. Says Agrawal, "Though market rally may continue, for it to be sustainable, improvement in government balance sheets and reform are keys." He feels reduction in fiscal deficit and reforms in the power and mining sector will be crucial for the Indian equity market.On the other hand, Nandan Chakraborty, managing director-institutional equity research at Enam Securities feels, "February is going to be a mine-field." He feels the market will be put to test starting from the second batch of results which may have nasty surprises. Secondly, the Iran gold-for-oil may test the Indian rupee. Indian market has been the biggest gainer among BRIC nations and among the top four gainers in the overall MSCI Index, gaining 21 per cent in the last month. Going ahead, Indian market will be put on litmus test. One thing is clear which goes up sharply, must come down and therefore some correction could be healthy for our market. Traders may tread cautiously.
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Vodafone Ltd has been pulled up by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The company has been asked not to create hurdles for its subscribers who want to switch to another operator. The mobile number portability regulations allow the mobile subscriber to change the service provider without changing number. Trai on Friday sent a letter to Vodafone Ltd chief Marten Pieters, directing the company to immediately port its customers. Asking Vodafone to submit to Trai the action taken within a week on its directions, the letter stated, that reasons, cited by the company for restricting its customers from moving to another operator with the same number was not justified.The telecom operator had informed Trai that its customers had contractual obligation and that prevented them from porting with another operator. While customers who had appealed to Trai said that there was no such agreement, preventing them from porting. The letter to Vodafone from the regulator states that Trai found that when complaints were forwarded to Vodafone, such customers were allowed to be ported out. Therefore, such rejection of the ground of contractual obligation by Vodafone is not in compliance. Trai reminded Vodafone that its earlier order specifically mentions how to deal with contractual obligation. The regulator had stated in its earlier order that telecom operators should not reject MNP request if the amount of subscriber due is less than Rs 10.
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It's served as the David to the veritable Goliaths of the web industry, first on the desktop and now increasingly on mobile. Somewhat skittish, but always innovating, Opera's web browsers exist for practically every PC and mobile platform imaginable, often pioneering features that trickle down to the competition. Tushar Kanwar sat down with Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera to have a wide-ranging conversation about surviving the web and Opera's outlook on the future.Opera recently purchased Handster (a white-label mobile app store). What benefits did the acquisition bring to Opera, given that you already ran an existing app store with Appia? We think it is very important for us to have our own app marketplace, beginning with our own storefront in the mobile space, and then on the desktop and TV in the future. In the long term — the move will be from native apps — those that run solely on one platform or the other (like Android or Java apps), to web apps that run across all devices. When that happens, we need to control our own app store, which allows developers to come in with their apps, and just tick off the platforms they want their apps to be made available for:TV, cars, mobiles, everything that is running Opera code. We're the only ones at the moment who can offer such a cross-platform offering. Speaking of web apps, Opera has long been a strong proponent, pretty much spearheading the initiative. How far away are we from a pure-web apps store, given how popular native platform specific applications are at the moment?It's very hard to say, because when we started making mobile browsers, we thought they were two years away, and it ended up taking 10 years before mobile browsers really took off. It took Steve Jobs and the iPhone to make mobile browsing what it is today. That said, where we are today, with the Internet, if you make the products compelling, people will start using it — it all comes down to the user experience. We're excited about increased HTML5 acceptance (more so with the recent developments around Adobe Flash), and things are moving much faster than we anticipated, even if we compare them what they were like to 6 months ago, but I can't say when it will reach a critical mass. For the time being, our app stores will feature native apps and web apps - that is today's market, but we will spearhead the transition to a web-apps based world. Revenues are up, as are profits. What specifically are you doing to increase your ARPU (average revenues per user) figures?The last couple of years have been great for us at Opera, with a very scalable revenue and profit model. Back in '99, we were losing money, with most of our revenues coming from customised browsers for phone manufacturers such as Samsung and HT. That business just disappeared with the iPhones and Androids. We were left with a desktop product generating revenues mainly from search tie-ups and content partnerships. Today, it's different, we're more focused on making great consumer products, no more consultancy work, and that's something we learnt the hard way.Of course, I have to mention two great things that have happened for us when it comes to revenue and how we scale our business. First, we managed to leverage on the success of Opera mini through operators. Most operators started realising that data traffic on their network was up by almost 50 per cent due to one application called Opera mini. And so if you look at Russia, India and other emerging markets, we have signed 50 operator agreements in the last 18 months, something many other software companies can only dream of doing with so many telcos. Plus we're helping them fight Apple and Google taking over their users. The other factor is TV, which has been very scalable and profitable business for Opera. It's also a market where we are very ambitious going forward because we see where we failed with the desktop where we had great technology but never enough user uptake. With TV, there is no real Apple, Google competitor offering yet, and it's only a short matter of time before we get there. TV operators are asking us to build a platform they can ship, and we're the only one who have app store, advertising and payment technologies in place to make this happen. You spoke about your desktop presence, where your competition has often out noised you and the product has languished, especially if you compare it with your mobile browser growth rates. Is it still a priority, your desktop browser? I think we need to be realistic about it. While we've done some fantastic innovations in the desktop browser space, things like speed dial, tabbed browsing, a mail client within the browser, it really hasn't been driving growth for us. Yet, if you take India for example, where we are very strong on mobile and are seeing fantastic growth, crazy growth almost. It is here where we believe there will be a spillover from mobile to desktop, with users looking for the same experience on their desktops that they see all day on their phones. In addition, unlike Russia, where we integrate our mail client with the most popular mail services, in India we believe a lot of people will not have got their first mailbox yet, and we want Opera to be that mailbox. With their recent Kindle launches, Amazon launched the new Silk browser, which is seen as homage to Opera mini's technology of compressing data in a server before it reaches your mobile web browser. Yet, as networks improve and 3G gains acceptance, do you see your star product Opera mini becoming redundant?Let's look at it this way, we have Opera mini (not the full fledged Opera Mobile browser) on the iPhone, which is widely used in developed markets, but we still have 3-4 million folks using Opera mini on the iPhone, primarily because it is fast when compared to the default browser. And remember, there are still a lot of bad networks out there, even in the US, and our intention for the future is to have a seamless mixed model — where you can get full fidelity on your mobile browser on a good network, and server compressed 'mini mode' on slower network. I think the merging of the Opera mini and Mobile browsers will be a killer feature, possibly as early as early 2012.Can you speak to your partnerships and presence in India? There's a fantastic growth story there, we have grown from 1 million to more than 20 million users now in India. Even compared to two years ago we are probably embracing the fact more that India is our biggest market, because in the past we spent a lot of time on getting a position in the US. Today, we are proud of our position in emerging markets, and we're finding new ways to monetise the business each passing month. Speaking specifically of local partnerships, we are working with Vodafone, and conducting some serious pilot testing with some other big operators in India. With our team on the ground, we are also dealing with all the local regulations like lawful intercepts, which involves putting our servers into India. Essentially, we are really trying to speed up our investments into India.Where does Opera go next? What is the next inflection point for the company; areas that you foresee possibly going well the next few years that you haven't actually dealt with in the past couple of years?We're betting heavily on HTML5 becoming the dominant platform, and while Google and others are involved, we really try to be in the front seat. That is very important for our cross platform offering. As I said, we're very ambitious on TV, where we want to build a platform for TV manufacturers and TV operators, so they have something more compelling when Google and Apple arrive in the market. We're working on the app store and some other features on the TV platform that the world hasn't seen yet, so we're very excited by that.With regard to mobile and desktop, we may be a little more realistic going forward, focusing on browser features and then on integrating popular local services. There are a lot of content and third party services which are very popular in India but the big guys only want to push their own services, so we think that's a nice way to compete with them.You will be completing 2 years as CEO in January 2012. How has the journey personally been? It's been great. Of course, it was a little bit unexpected that I had to take over, and I took over at a point when we were in a difficult position, with slow desktop growth and little or no revenues from mobile or TV. We were forced into restructuring the company; we stopped our consultancy business, instead focusing all our engineering resources into making great consumer products. Then we saw major success with Opera mini, and started monetising this through operators and third-party content providers. And with the position we are in the TV space, we now have three legs to stand on today compared to one leg 18-20 months ago.
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