Finance Continuum at SJMSOM, IIT Bombay

SJMSOM successfully conducted Finance Continuum – the third link in Continuum-2005 on August 21, 2005. .’Continuum’ is a rolling seminar series at SJMSOM which brings together the leading personalities of the corporate world in a single platform and covers the latest in management trends. The main theme for Finance continuum ’05 was ‘Valuations’. The event saw participants from various b-schools across Mumbai as well as industry delegates.

At the outset, Finance Continuum was inaugurated by Prof. M. G. Korgaonkar, Head, SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. To set the ball rolling, Mr. David Panna, VP, Transaction Advisory Services Ernst & Young India Ltd shared his experience with various valuation methodologies like multiples method, DCF method, NAV method etc. He delved into the various reasons for the value mismatch between the buyer and the seller and explained how the strategic intent of the buyer affects the valuations. “Valuation is as much an art as it is a science” said Mr. Panna in his concluding remarks. He was followed by Mr. S. V. Venkatakrishnan, VP, ARCIL .The topic for his session was “Asset Restructuring”. He began by mentioning the structural options for NPA cleanup and went on to explain the common theme across ARC models and the benefits of ARC approach. The business model of ARCIL was examined in detail. Then he went on to explain operational issues like asset valuation, acquisition, resolution, restructuring etc. He concluded by mentioning the various regulatory issues and other concerns. Thereafter, Mr. Suresh Goyal, Director, Corporate Finance, Lazard India Pvt. Ltd. presented an in-depth analysis of the valuation of a telecom company. DCF method was used and the rationale behind the various revenue assumptions and cost assumptions were analyzed in detail. Comparable cost analysis was used to determine the final value.

The post lunch session began with the doyens from the Banking industry expressing their views on the hot topic ‘consolidation in Banking Sector’. The various reasons for M&A;, the operational challenges while a merger is being carried out and the key factors which determine a successful merger etc were discussed in detail. The future outlook for the industry and the implications of Basel-II norms were covered. This was followed by a panel discussion with Mr. Anup Kapadia, Director, Investment Banking, HSBC, Mr. Vinay Gupta, Head, Operations and Compliance, DBS Bank Ltd., Mr. Hemant Tanna, VP, Investment Banking, ING Vysya Bank being moderated by Prof. S. V. D. N. Rao, Associate Professor, SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. This was the chance for the eager students to extract even more knowledge from their vast repertoire of experiences.

The continuum meet was formally declared closed by Prof. M. G. Korgaonkar, Head, SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. In his characteristic panache, he asked students and industry delegates to apply the learnings of the day in their respective workplaces and make the faculty proud of them.