NEW DELHI: According to a research report produced by the State Bank of India (SBI), as investment opportunities for China dwindle, India not only appears to be a clear beneficiary in terms of an attractive investment destination but also appears to be emerging as the best choice with a positive growth and inflation outlook in the current fiscal.

The SBI research said that, housing sales in India during the first half of 2022, meaning between January and June, achieved the greatest level since the first half of 2013, as China's construction industry battles with a crisis. China is India's eastern neighbour. It said,  low lending rates, cheap unit prices, and revived demand for homes driven by the Coronavirus epidemic were the key drivers of the surge in housing sales in India.

In seven major cities, sales of 158,705 units during the first half of 2022 increased by 60% year over year, representing a 19% increase over the same time in 2017.

In the research paper, it was said that "Apple's recent move to shift some production of the iPhone 14 model for worldwide delivery from India, with a small time lag of a few weeks, gives testament to such optimism" further underscored the enthusiasm for India.  Apple's decision, which appeals to the expectations of people with high aspirations and is the most recognisable example of tech-infused innovation in the last two centuries, "could open the floodgates for other major companies to follow suit."

It also gave an instance of India's equity and currency markets, which recovered after initially having reacted adversely to US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comments reaffirming bank's commitment to frontload rate hikes by central banks, to recoup some of the losses in subsequent trades.

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