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Tokyo, Dec 15 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did some hardselling of the business opportunities in India and promised foreign investors that the government would address all their legitimate concerns, especially those related to infrastructure, taxation, tariffs and red tape.

He also urged Japan to try and retrieve the ground it had lost to other East Asian and South-East Asian countries in India and regain its historic status as India's most important business partner in Asia.

In this context, he advised them to weigh the initial problems of entry against the long-term profitability and stability of doing business in India.

''I am aware of the concerns Japanese investors have about doing business in India. Our government will address all legitimate concerns of investors,'' he said at a business luncheon organized jointly by the Apex Chambers of Japan and India.

''We are committed to improving our infrastructure, simplifying our taxation regime, reducing further our tariffs and eliminating bureaucratic delays. We have made substantial progress in each of these areas, but I am aware that there is more to be done. We will do our best,'' he said.

The Prime Minister said the focus of his government had been to create world class infrastructure in India and that he was personally monitoring all the major projects at every quarter.

''We have estimated that India needs investment of at least 320 billion dollars in the next five years in infrastructure alone. We have estimated that our total investment requirement would be closer to 500 billion dollars,'' he said.

Regarding public and private, domestic and foreign participation in all sectors in India, Dr Singh said ''We happily welcome foreign investment and seek to promote public-private partnership.'' He, further, said as part of such public-private partnerships, the government had made provisions for grant assistance through a specially created "viability gap funding" mechanism and for access to long-term funds through a special purpose vehicle, the Infrastructure Development Finance Company.

''We will continue to explore all ways and means to further our efforts to improve India's infrastructure and bring it up to international standards,'' he promised.

Dr Singh said he and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe were "sincerely and deeply committed" to breathing new life into the relationship between the two countries. He said they would launch negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Japan.

''In the years ahead, we wish to focus on building a much deeper and wider relationship with Japan's business and industry,''he said.

According to him, the bilateral economic relations presently fell far short of the potential.

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