Dubai World debt won't hit India: Anand Sharma

New Delhi, Nov 27: The multi-billion dollar debt default by Dubai World will have little impact on the Indian economy, a senior Indian minister said on Friday, Nov 27.

Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said, "India is a very large economy. It's a resilient economy. I don't think some development in real estate in Dubai will have an impact on the Indian economy."

"As far as India is concerned, the housing, real estate sector and construction industry are all doing well. This is confirmed by the increasing demand for construction materials, cement and steel," Sharma told reporters here.

While, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla preferred to watch the situation before hazarding a guess on the impact of Dubai World's woes on the country's economy.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "We will have to study what the issue is, what is the problem, what will be the possible implication if any for the Indian economy, the people and corporates."

The state-run Dubai World stunned the global financial world when it announced it would need to restructure its debt, estimated at $59 billion and asked creditors for a six-month deferment.

Indian equities reacted adversely to the development, with the benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) down as much as 634.16 points, or 3.76 percent.

OneIndia News