India emerging as major player in overseas oil assets: Unctad
Monday, 16 October 2006, 19:30 IST
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New Delhi: Even though outflows of foreign investment from India are still dominated by the services sector, a growing proportion of investments are targeting manufacturing and resources such as oil exploration, says Unctad. "Both China and India have intensified efforts to acquire oil assets overseas," says the latest World Investment Report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), released globally Monday. "Chinese and Indian oil companies have also begun to cooperate in bidding for foreign oil assets. Both China and India are also actively investing in mining. Companies from both countries participate in bidding for mining projects." The report also points out the example of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) experience in Sudan and says the presence of Indian, Chinese and Malaysian firms in the country has expanded in recent years. "ONGC Videsh of India continued the expansion of its operations in Sudan that ranges from the exploration of more blocks to oil refining," the report says, giving the extent of involvement of the overseas arm of the state-run oil major. "The company financed the construction of a 741-km pipeline, which would link Sudan's biggest refinery, Gaili Refinery, north of Khartoum, to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, says the report. ONGC Videsh is also making further investments to upgrade and modernise yet another refinery in Port Sudan to handle larger transport capacities of oil goods for exports, it adds. The report says the West Asian economies are also investing their petro-dollars in other countries such as India, spurred by soaring commodity prices over the past few years and the 'look-east policy' of some countries. "Saudi Arabia is likely to be an equity partner for India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp in a refinery project in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh," says the report as an example.
Source: IANS
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