Jawed Ashraf highlights investment potential
Singapore, the Asian economic hub ranked top with 2018 foreign direct investment flow into India, is seen as leading investor in India’s US$250 billion worth of stressed assets in the financial sector.
“A large part of Singapore’s investment from Singapore’s government linked funds and private equity funds in India has been in existing or mature assets, and we see a huge potential for investments in stressed assets,” India’s High Commissioner Jawed Ashraf told a conference in Singapore on 6 June 2019.
The stressed assets have as many viable companies that have had management issues that forced them into a situation that triggered process for resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Jawed Ashraf told the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India conference.
Highlighting the background, key provisions and the benefits of the IBC, the High Commissioner pointed out: “Many of the assets would be available at attractive price and the process of resolution is very quick, averaging about 300 days per case”.
Addressing some 200 investors at the conference, “New Paradigm for Stressed Assets”, he also noted that other areas of cooperation between India and Singapore could include cross-border insolvency, exchange of best practices on insolvency and more engagement between the ecosystems of the two countries.
Jawed Ashraf believes Singapore eco-system will also be very supportive of opening an entirely new chapter and take the two countries’ investment relations to a new level all together.
The envoy stressed on the immediate and long-term impact on India’s stressed assets, which some estimates value it at US$250 billion in the banking sector.
He assured that the IBC will continue to get improved, which will see the investment cycle picking up especially with the participation of private sector.
Singapore was the largest source of US$16.23 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) into India for the year ended 31 March 2018 based on data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
Mauritius was second with US$8.08 billion FDI in 2018), followed by the Netherlands with US$3.87 billion, the United States with US$3.14 billion and Japan with US$2.97 billion. Fiinews.com
The conference and one-on-one meetings with Singapore based investors was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on 6-7 June 2019. Fiinews.com
