AP to top investment chart: YSR

Hyderabad, Apr 2 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh occupied third position among ten industrialised states in the country with investments in various sectors doubling in the last two years,Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy said today.

In an official release here today in the context of his visit to Bangalore tomorrow, Dr Reddy hoped the state will emerge as one of the prime investment destinations in the country.

Currently, Andhra Pradesh occupied third position with investments of Rs 75,391 crore after Maharashtra (Rs 1.02 lakh crore) and Gujarat (Rs 78,696 crore) as per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) estimates as on January 2006.

The significant pointer to the bright future of the state is investments in different sectors have almost doubled between 2004-06.

This was sizeable growth compared to the total investments in five year period from 1999 to 2004 which was only Rs 7,251 crore averaging Rs 1,450 crore per year.

The Chief Minister will present the facts during a high-profile interactive session with more than 50 CEOs of IT, semi-conductors and textile industries at Bangalore tomorrow.

Dr Reddy will explain to industrial leader that Andhra Pradesh was one of the fastest growing economies in the country with high human development index and a strong knowledge-based society to feed the emerging units in IT and other sectors.

In the fast-growing IT sector, the state aims to achieve Rs 69,000 crore exports by 2009 and create direct employment for three lakh persons.

Andhra Pradesh has achieved an enviable 64.5 per cent growth in software exports, way ahead of the national average of 35 per cent during 2004-05.

The IT sector topped in export revenues by earning Rs 8,396 crore out of total exports of Rs 19,552 crore from the state during 2004-05.

Dr Reddy will also invite the CEOs to visit Andhra Pradesh and experience the quality of infrastructure to make investment decisions With excellent global and local connectivity which will further improve once the new international airport is ready and the second largest power generation capacity in the country, Dr Reddy expressed confidence the state will be second to none in terms of offering the best package to investors.

UNI ASJ GM 1735