India well placed in tariff talks: Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman

Though the US president Donald Trump is on a tariff offensive with just about every trading partner, Blackstone Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman believes India is “quite well placed” in tariff talks.

Schwarzman, who is on a visit India to mark the world’s biggest alternative asset manager’s 20th anniversary, said today that PM Modi had a “very good” meeting with the US President, where they agreed to a trade deal. “Very few countries in the world have had that treatment, and India has already made some changes. I anticipate that negotiations should go relatively well. There are countries with much bigger differentials, and there’ll be a lot more news about them than about India. That’s a good place to be,” said Schwarzman.

Blackstone, with over $1 trillion in assets globally, aims to double its India assets under management to $100 billion. “We are already India’s largest foreign company, real estate owner, and private equity firm,” commented Schwarzman. Despite concerns around softening of growth, Schwarzman is optimistic about India’s economic growth despite market correction. “There has been some softness over the past two quarters, and the stock market has seen a decline, which might be why this question comes up. Some believed the market was overvalued, and a correction was expected. When that happens, people get nervous,” commented Schwarzman.

India’s real gross domestic product grew 6.2% in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, but slower than the 9.5% seen over in Q3 of FY24. But Schwarzman feels India’s growth rates are among the highest globally, and did not foresee challenges will alter the growth trajectory in the coming years. “India does not have a debt problem, nor does it have a real estate issue. The government here is relatively effective compared to others. Also, India is one of the few countries with a growing population,” said the co-founder, who owns close to 20% in Blackstone.

While the chairman is bullish on India’s infrastructure, he expressed the need for better coordination between the central and state government remains a challenge, making the approval process quite complex. He also suggested a more transparent tax code would help investors.

Among the new businesses that the asset manager plans to dig in deep is the private credit space. “We're just getting started. I know it seems like we're like big, but we don't think so,” said Schwarzman.