Britain rolls out red carpet for Indian businesses
Wednesday, 08 January 2003, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Britain has rolled out the red carpet for Indian industry, saying businesses in both countries can benefit from shared experiences of economic liberalization and privatization. "There are already some 350 Indian companies with a base in Britain. Many more of you are welcome," said British Minister for Trade and Industry Patricia Hewitt. "The British government is also playing its part in strengthening our relations," Hewitt told a gathering to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Indo-British Partnership here late Tuesday. The minister said in the last 10 years bilateral trade between India and Britain had increased by almost 70 percent to some five billion pounds a year. "Ten years in which both our countries have benefited from our shared experiences of economic liberalisation and privatisation and the benefits that have flowed from them," she said. Indo-British Partnership (IBP), launched in 1993, has been seeking to increase bilateral trade and investment with particular emphasis on small and medium enterprises and to promote technology and science links between the two countries. IBP has been instrumental in highlighting and disseminating mutually beneficial business opportunities and facilitating their translation into business ventures. IBP has identified agro and food processing, environment, infrastructure, manufacturing, mining, technical education and training and financial services, among others, as specific sectors for further business development. Britain is the second largest trading partner of India and the largest in the European Union. The Indo-British bilateral trade has exceeded $5 billion in 2000-01. Britain is also the second largest importer of Indian goods after the U.S. Major items of Indian exports to Britain are ready-made garments, textiles, engineering goods, leather and leather products, gold jewellery, plastic and tea. Major imports from Britain include un-worked diamonds, engineering goods, specialised industrial, electrical and project goods, transport equipment, organic chemicals, paper products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Total foreign direct investment (FDI) from Britain during the period 1991 to April 2002 amounted to $5.65 billion, which is 9.58 percent of the global FDI approvals during the same period. Against the above approvals, the actual inflow of investment during the same period amounted to $788 million, which is 4.17 percent of the global inflow received during the same period. More than 350 Indian firms have set up operations in Britain, of which 275 are from the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.
Source: IANS
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