American investors urged not to ignore India

New York, Dec 14 (UNI) Participants in a panel discussion on investment in South Asia, urged foreign investors, especially the Americans, not to ignore India, when scouting for investment opportunities.

''If you don't have India and China, you're going to lose out,'' said Anil Gulati of Coda Capital, a private equity firm.

The panel discussion, titled 'Investing in India - Opportunities and Challenges,' was held at Baruch College whose Zicklin School of Business co-sponsored the event.

Rajarishi Nahata, assistant professor of finance at the college, pointed out citing some estimates that India had a 20 per cent share of world trade in the year 1800. He wondered why the share became so insignificant now. Mr Nahata welcomed the gathering and made introductory remarks.

Mr Gulati noted that India has, of late, been known for its knowledge sector, but areas like real estate, telecommunications, manufacturing, biotechnology have also been driving its economy in recent years.

''Regulators are rolling out the red carpet for foreign investment in 120 sectors, as in all 210 sectors have opened up for investment at various levels,'' Mr Gulati said.

However, he urged the government to make repatriation of funds easier, and announce more tax benefits as foreign investors are now favouring destinations like Mauritius and Singapore. Mr Gulati's firm focuses on technology-centric health care, business services, telecom and leisure companies.

AR Ghanashyam, deputy consul general, assured that India with its democratic traditions ensures high returns on foreign investments. He said domestic industry has changed significantly since the economic liberalization was launched in mid-1991. Pointing out the revolution in telecommunications, Mr Ghanashyam said fishermen in Kerala are now able to sell their produce for better prices by using cellphones and doing away with the need of middlemen.

According to him, there are 11.7 million small-scale units contributing to 40 per cent of the national output. The sector employs 27 million people. Though Mr Ghanashyam acknowledged that 600 million people in India still depend on farming for living, its share in the gross domestic product has come down.

''In 1950 agriculture had a share of 60 per cent in the GDP, but in 2005 it constituted 21 percent,'' he said. ''But that is the sector on which the present government is concentrating.'' Savita Wakhlu, managing director of Jagriti Communications, spoke on cultural aspects of the country. ''Get enough knowledge.

Do your homework on Indian culture,'' she advised prospective investors. ''Even if you know something about India, you still have to relearn as the country is changing fast.'' Ms Wakhlu, who relocated to the United States from India in March 2003, has been training personnel from companies such as Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Chase and IBM. Among her credits was writing a fortnightly newspaper column in The Telegraph, Kolkata, on 'What You Did Not Learn In Business School.' Another co-sponsor of the program held last week was the Midtown Manhattan Small Business Development Center at the college.

Pavan Mirpuri, business adviser at the center, played a key role in putting together the meeting.

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