India most expensive market despite meltdown: Citigroup

India most expensive market despite meltdown: Citigroup
10 Aug, 2007, 2008 hrs IST,

NEW DELHI: India's stock market remains the most expensive in Asia-
Pacific region outside Japan despite a sharp downturn in the past few
weeks, international brokerage firm Citigroup said on Friday.

"India continues to be the least attractive market from our
perspective, by a significant margin. Although composite momentum has
turned positive, India still looks very expensive," Citigroup said in
its latest report on Asia Pacific markets.

Singapore is the top ranked market on an aggregate relative basis, and
although valuations are stretched, long-term momentum is strong.
Citigroup said it believed the market was attractive compared to its
Asia Pacific peers.

Malaysia and China are in the 'Glamour' category, representating
expensive but with a strong momentum.

"India remains at the bottom of the pile, with a marginal improvement
in momentum due to flat earnings revisions, but relatively poor
valuation scores keep it expensive," Citigroup analysts said in the
report.

The country's stock market benchmark BSE Sensex has fallen more than
1,000 points in the past few trading sessions following concerns
related to the US subprime crisis.

According an earlier report by Citigroup, India was the overall most
expensive market in the region for 2007 after considering various
metrics like price-to-earnings (PE) ratio, book value, cash flow,
return on equity and enterprise value.