Topic: How To Invest

Dear Pat: Your opinion on ICICI Bank and Philip Morris International, please. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

ICICI Bank (ADR), $34.22, symbol IBN on New York (ADRs outstanding: 577.4 million; Market cap: $19.3 billion; www.icicibank.com), is India’s largest non-state-owned bank by assets. It is highly diversified, with insurance, lending and banking businesses. ICICI is growing rapidly: its profits rose 13%, to $408 million, in the three months ended December 31, 2013. Demand for mortgages and vehicle loans remains strong, although the bank is seeing more bad loans from corporations, which remains a concern. The bank continues to expand in India and overseas. At the same time, it is offering more services, which will broaden its client base. However, its expenses are rising along with the amount of money it is setting aside to cover bad loans. Moreover, the Indian market, where the bank has 68.8% of its loans, is intensively competitive. ICICI Bank is okay to hold, but only for highly aggressive investors. A: Philip Morris International, $79.84, symbol PM on New York (Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $127.1…