United States to look beyond IT, BPO in India

New Delhi, Jan 24: The US Ambassador to India David Mulford today said American investors are interested in sectors like financial services, telecom, auto and pharmaceuticals beyond Information Technology and Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) in India.

He said the US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez will visit New Delhi next month to underscore the challenges and opportunities open to American companies in the country.

''While the US has always contributed a large portion of FDI in India, it has tendered to be at the modest level of 300-400 million dollars a year. In contrast, by October 2006, seven months into India's fiscal year, US firms have already exceeded average annual levels investing 470 million dollars, with indications that total investments will clear one billion dollars,'' Mr Mulford said here.

This rising FDI seems at odds with global competitiveness assesssments such as the World Bank's Doing Business Report, where India commonly places in the bottom fifth of rankings, he added.

''The US companies are beginning to understand India's true potential symbolised by last November's US delegation, led by Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Frank Lavin.

The delegation consisted of more than 200 US companies.'' He said US expenditures have been focused on ways to enable individuals and firms to participate in India's growth through investments in health, education and infrastructure. At the same time, the government has acknowledged that the country's vast infrastructure needs cannot be met by the government alone and is working to develop public-private-participation.

He, however, said it is important to understand the current reality of India to understand the challenges exist -- from complicated tax administration laws and still present bureaucratic processes -- which are ''not always transparent at the beginning of one's foray into India.''

UNI