Sovereign funds on FM radar

New Delhi, May 27: Seeking more foreign investments into India, finance minister P. Chidambaram today met sovereign wealth funds here and discussed the scope of investing in infrastructure and corporate bonds.

On his day-long visit to the Gulf nation, he met senior government functionaries and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) managing director Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, said M.K. Lokesh, Indian ambassador to the UAE.

"The two sides discussed ways to strengthen investments in each others' countries and the finance minister sought more investment from the UAE, especially in infrastructure and corporate debt sectors," Lokesh said.

The finance minister also promised to look into the issues related to the UAE investments in India, he said.

The visit is part of Chidambaram's global tour to attract foreign investments. He has held similar investor meets in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Qatar, Canada and the US.

Chidambaram has been emphasising that India offers "unlimited" investment opportunities in infrastructure and the country is looking to spend around $1 trillion over five years in roads, airports and seaports.

India is betting big on foreign resources to finance its current account deficit, which had widened to a record high of 6.7 per cent of the gross domestic product in the October-December quarter of 2012-13.

In his earlier meetings with the investor community, Chidambaram had expressed India's commitment to economic reforms.

He also highlighted the measures proposed in the budget for investments and markets to help the economy grow at 6.1-6.7 per cent.

PTI