Initiatives like digitalisation and technological advancements and government's renewed
push for 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' is expected to fuel capacity building in
several areas like electronics manufacturing, EVs, textiles etc. ?[
Dear Shareholders,
The fiscal year 2023 was an eventful one with inflation, interest rates, and supply
chain disruptions continuing to remain key concern areas for businesses and policymakers.
Financial markets experienced volatility and the central banks across the globe closely
monitored inflationary pressures to adjust their monetary policies accordingly.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continued to implement measures to support economic
growth and stabilise inflation. Initiatives like digitalisation and technological
advancements and government's renewed push for 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' is
expected to fuel capacity building in several areas like electronics manufacturing, EVs,
textiles etc. From being known for home to large global service delivery centres, the
government is now aiming to replicate this for manufacturing, and this augurs well for the
overall economic development of the nation.
For an Indian investor, FY2023 was highly volatile for equities, giving a flat return.
In contrast, some other asset classes like gold (+13%), US$ ( + 9%), real estate (5%-6%)
and bonds (3.3%) performed better.
A volatile and flat market had its impact on new equity investors coming to the market;
during the year, the number of new demat accounts opened fell approx 28% as compared to
the previous year.
In the equities market, thanks to developments like entry of large number of younger
and tech-savvy investors on the one hand, and launch of digital tools by players on the
other, the derivatives segment continued its northward trend with daily traded volumes
more than doubling in this sector, while the traditional cash equity segment shrank by a
fifth.
In the secondary market, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) pulled out US$ 24.5 Billion
while the domestic investors were net buyers to the extent of US$ 30.2 Billion, which was
the highest ever. Retail investors reposed their faith in SIPs, which remained resilient
with cumulative SIP flows of ' 1,560 Billion in FY2023 vs ' 1,246 Billion in FY2022. This
strong retail inflow helped steady the markets during periods of FII outflow.
The Indian markets continued to benefit from the regulator's oversight who have doubled
down on their agenda to safeguard retail investors and enhance transparency. During the
year, the regulator announced a series of measures like Two Factor Authentication (2FA)
for accessing online trading platforms, revision of peak margin norms, tighter norms for
'finfluencers', enhanced scrutiny of large brokers, and increased separation of customers'
and brokers' accounts, and these are expected to further strengthen retail investors'
faith in the system.
WEALTH-TECH
In the rapidly-evolving landscape of private wealth management, your Company, ICICI
Securities, has emerged as a leading wealth-tech player in India with over 78,000 wealth
customers and ' 3.2 Trillion asset base. We are leveraging technology to transform the way
individuals and family offices manage and grow their wealth.
Icicidirect.com, our wealth-tech platform, offers clients seamless access to a wide
range of investment opportunities, personalised financial planning tools, and real-time
market insights.
Its user-friendly interfaces and intuitive design help investors navigate the
complexities of the financial markets with ease.
We are harnessing the power of data and advanced analytics to drive informed
decision-making and provide tailored recommendations to our clients, taking into account
individual risk profiles and financial goals. Through our digital-first approach, we are
committed to democratising wealth management, providing curated investment products and
services that cater to investors at various stages of their financial lifecycle.
The Indian markets continued to benefit from the regulator's oversight who have doubled
down on their agenda to safeguard retail investors and enhance transparency.
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
At ICICI Securities, we have always believed sustainability to be integral to our
long-term business growth and holistic stakeholder value creation.
Our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) focus is in tandem with this belief, and
we continue to raise the bar of our ESG performance year-on-year. Our continued progress
on the key metrics of ESG reflect our unwavering commitment to sustainable growth; in
recognition of our increased disclosures and progressive policies, MSCI has upgraded our
ESG rating to BBB from BB.
We have continuously expanded the ambit of our social outreach to improve the quality
of life of the underprivileged through comprehensive programmes in healthcare, skill
development, sustainable livelihood, youth and women empowerment, and rural development,
among others. During the year, our CSR projects, undertaken directly and through our
partner ecosystem, touched 0.13 Million lives.
Through the ICICI Foundation, we supported training for 7,200 youth during the year, of
which 96% have been offered placement opportunities. This year, under Project Hameri, our
ongoing initiative in partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
- India, we trained 500 women living in the midst of the Corbett landscape of
Uttarakhand in new skills like food processing and handicraft training.
Under our healthcare initiative, we support Tata Memorial Hospital in treatment to
patients, providing medical equipment and medical infrastructure.
During the year, we helped Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (HBCH &
RC),
Mullanpur conduct 657 early cancer detection camps which screened over 80,000 women. In
association with NIMHANS, we ran a project for Alzheimer's patients which included early
detection, assistance, and awareness programmes. We also supported cataract surgeries of
~2,000 needy senior citizens and treatment of ~650 underprivileged children.
This year, under Project Hameri, our ongoing initiative in partnership with World Wide
Fund for Nature (WWF) - India, we trained 500 women living in the midst of the Corbett
landscape of Uttarakhand < in new skills like food processing / and handicraft
training. /
In some of our other community outreach activities, we provided two life support
ambulances to Sashastra Seema Bal, and provided clean drinking water and sanitation for
residents at three hamlets in Nashik district of Maharashtra.
We support a number of entrepreneurs - through IIT Bombay's incubator cell -
particularly those who are developing a promising technology with a potential for a major
impact in healthcare. We are supporting start-ups in various stages of developing and
commercialising products in the areas of wearable mobility, genomics, burn treatment, and
robotic arms.
MOVING AHEAD
Given our current under penetration of almost all investment products and the expected
long-term economic growth over the next couple of decades, the long-term trend of
increased financialisation, equitisation, and digitisation of savings remains intact, and
we are ideally positioned to harness this opportunity. We are confident that our focussed
investments to build brand, capability, and delivery will continue to drive our
performance positivity.
In addition to the strength of products and distribution, trust in our business is key;
it can only be built over the years and across business cycles. We feel our brand is
trusted across customer segments and we maintain a very sharp focus on compliance,
governance and risk management, and hence we are confident of remaining relevant to all
strata of customers for meeting their lifecycle needs.
As we move forward on the road to aid financial freedom for our growing customer base,
it will be our endeavour to reinforce the drivers of our business strategy. These include
strengthening our open architecture acquisition model; expanding our offering to cover the
entire gamut of investments, insurance and loan portfolios, and reinforcing our customer
coverage model. We will continue to simplify and democratise access to the world of
finance. The private wealth opportunity landscape looks bright and welcoming, and we are
fully geared to embrace it at the back of our core strengths, with particular focus on
continued investments in digitalisation and innovation.
As we stride purposefully towards realising our business objectives, we seek to further
leverage our close relationship with our parent, the ICICI Bank, for enhancing the
Company's performance and the service levels to our customers. Our synergistic and
symbiotic relationship is expected to provide a strong fillip to our growth strategy.
I am confident that with your sustained confidence and support, we shall succeed in
creating a vibrant and dynamic platform where every Indian will have the freedom to grow
their wealth and become financially empowered.
I am confident that with your sustained confidence and support, we shall succeed in
creating a vibrant and dynamic platform where every Indian will have the freedom to grow
their wealth and become financially empowered. Before I conclude, I would like to thank
all of you, as well as our customers, partners, associates, regulators, employees, and the
communities at large, for their trust and cooperation. Together, I am confident we shall
achieve our targets and goals to become stronger, bigger, better and more integral to
every Indian's financial lifecycle.
Regards
Vinod Kumar Dhall Chairman