Quotes of the year

The world of business has seen more ups and downs in 2008 than there are on a Himalayan trek. Not surprisingly, leaders from the world of politics and business were surprised by the dramatic turn of events, making statements that, in retrospect, made them appear a little out of their depths. Examples:

ON REALTY PRICES

“Nationally, the real estate market will witness a 20 per cent dip in land acquisition costs in the next three months. Till then, the market will continue to be stable”
Anuj Puri, MD, Jones Lang LaSalle, in The Economic Times, in June 2008

“We can expect a further 15-20 per cent correction by the first quarter of 2009”
Anuj Puri, in The Economic Times, in October 2008

ON THE GLOBAL MELTDOWN

“We will see the impact (of global financial crunch) on our FDI inflows in the next six months”
Kamal Nath, Commerce and Industry Minister, at a function organised by chartered accountants, on October 19, 2008

“India is still going strong. There’s no gloom in India, instead there’s a boom”
Kamal Nath, to Agencies, in November 2008

ON LIQUIDITY

“The current liquidity is enough”
Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC Bank, in The Economic Times, in October 2008

“There is a fear psychosis—if I lend, I won’t get it back. We need much more liquidity in the system”
Deepak Parekh, in Business Standard, in December 2008

ON INFLATION

“I do not see any reason why we cannot sustain 9 per cent growth even in the face of a global slowdown”
Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, at the annual meeting of the FICCI, to Agencies, in March 2008

“In a globalised world, we cannot pretend that we will not be affected by the crisis”
Manmohan Singh, to the Indian Express, on November 21, 2008

“Inflation still poses threat to Indian economy”
P. Chidambaram, Home Minister(and former finance minister), in March 2008

“How to tame inflation? Patience”
P. Chidambaram, in The Economic Times, in August 2008