CEOs of Big Global Companies Show Interest in Indian Market Date:   Wednesday , February 02, 2011 CEOs of global big companies like Wal-Mart, Rio Tinto, Tesco, Sistema, and Applied Materials are showing great interest in the fast growing Indian economy. They met with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and shared their enthusiasm about opportunities presented by the Indian Economy. Those who met Sharma include Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke, Tesco Chief Executive Terry Leahy, Sistema Chairman Vladimir Evtushenkov, Rio Tinto Chief Executive Tom Albanese, and Applied Materials Head Michael Splinter. A senior official, who was present at the meeting, said the world business leaders expressed their interest in India, in terms of strengthening their presence in the world's second fastest growing economy. He also added that, Sharma told them that barring a few sectors, India has opened the gates for foreign direct investment in all the areas. Davos annual WEF meeting is all about networking and cementing ties with India remains on top of the agenda of the global corporates, said a senior Indian industry leader. “We have been advised to scale up investment in upstream activities,” Tesco CE Terry Leahy told. Sistema, which has collaboration with Shyam Group in India, is increasing its investment in the Indian telecom sector with a subscriber base of 750 million. Though FDI into India declined in 2010-11 due to global slowdown in the previous years, the country still seems to remain as a priority area for the foreign investors.