India's FDI inflow jumps 92 per cent

NEW DELHI: India appears on course to attract a record $12 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) this fiscal, going by inflows in the first four months which have almost doubled from a year ago at $2.9 billion.

"FDI inflows in April-July 2006-07 increased by 92 per cent to $2.9 billion from $1.5 billion in the same period of last fiscal. India is set to receive $12 billion this year as against $8.3 billion in 2005-06," Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said.

In July this year, FDI inflows increased by a record 259 per cent to $1.16 billion as against $324 million in July 2005, Nath said, adding these investments were only equity components and did not include reinvested earnings by the companies.

The single largest FDI so far this year was by Barclays Bank of Singapore, which brought in $380 million.

Quoting Reserve Bank of India data, Nath said India has received $50.1 billion of FDI since 1991. Of this, $16 billion has come in since April 2004.

The RBI figures include both equity investments and reinvested earnings, he added.

The minister, who was upbeat about FDI inflows, said manufacturing sector was the major recipient of FDI and the growth in inflows were an important element of government's plan to increase the share of the sector in the economy to 25 per cent from 17 per cent.

In manufacturing, $668 million has come in as equity from abroad so far this fiscal.

Nath said all organs of the government must work in cohesion to make India an attractive investment destination so as to compete with other countries such as China, Thailand and Malaysia.

Nath said most of the investment made by foreign companies was for early stage of their ventures in India and in coming years it would go up.
 
He said Mauritius, US, Japan, Netherlands, UK, Germany. Singapore, France, South Korea and Switzerland are major investors and the sectors that they find most attractive are electrical equipment, services, telecom, energy and pharma.

While investment into India is increasing, Indian companies too are making investments abroad.

According to figures compiled by CRISIL for Confederation of Indian Industry, the total investment by Indian companies abroad in April-August is $2.8 billion.

The Minister attributed this to the developing synergies and said that Indian companies were buying companies outside India to maintain their competitiveness.

He said at the World Trade Organisation, India has now asked that its companies should be given national treatment when they invest abroad.