Foreign countries woo Indian investors

Bangalore, Jan 18 (UNI) The ongoing 13th Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit provided an organised platform for a number of foreign countries to woo Indian investors to their land.

The second day of the summit saw Hungary, New Zealand, France, Sri Lanka and Singapore host luncheon sessions to attract Indian investment.

Speaking at a session on Hungary, its former Prime Minister Dr Peter Medgyessy invited Indian investors to invest in infrastructure development, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology, information technology and nano technology. Hungary also provided various incentives like direct subsidies, tax-related incentives, besides other subsidies from the European Union.

French Industries Minister Francois Loos, at a session hosted by France, said a Commercial Action Plan was being drawn up to bring 300 small and medium French firms to India to establish new bilateral business partnerships. Cooperation between regions in the two countries, such as between Lyon and Karnataka, would further open up opportunities for SMEs. France would be open to receiving investments from India, he added.

Speaking at a Session on Sri Lanka: Centrepoint to Investments in South Asia, Sri Lankan Minister for Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Rohitha Bogollagama said the island nation wanted to position itself as a centre point for business between India and Pakistan. He sought investment in the areas of infrastructure, logistics, power, telecom and BPO.

Sri Lanka was targeting US Dollar one billion FDI this year.

UNI