UK invests $27bn in India since 2000
The United Kingdom wants to further deepen its business relationships with India, given it is hosting a strong Indian diaspora base and 890 Indian companies which are generating GBP40 billion of business a year.
“We are are one of the biggest western investors (and) UK companies have invested over US$27 billion in India since the year 2000,” said Mark Goldsack, Director of the Defence and Security Organisation at the DefExpo 2020 held 5-8 Feb 2020 in Lucknow.
The UK is now in a position to take the British business legacy forward, he underlined.
Elaborating, he stated that the UK and India also have a strong investment relationship, with UK and Indian investments supporting over half a million jobs in each other’s economies.
The UK is the second fastest growing G20 investor in India over the last 10 years, he pointed out.
Goldsack was part of the 25+ top brass UK delegation along with 160+ businessmen and over 30 companies at the DefExpo 2020, the largest contingent ever from UK.
The UK companies have already got 80 joint ventures up and running and have contracts with over 60 Indian MSMEs with more being worked on, especially in the Indian Defence Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu where international manufacturing companies are setting up operations.
The UK government has also set up a mechanism allowing direct contact with the Indian government and Defence Public Sector Undertakings. “That would have a transformative effect to what we do. A number of projects are being pursued,” said Goldsack.
“This Government-to-Government initiative would change the footprint for what we see going forward,” he stressed, noting that India is working to become a global industrial player.
Goldsack was quick to point out that the UK industry was highly technical for which India is an enormous market, given the Indians’ plans to increase its technology contents in products made in India.
“We are looking for partners who can share technologies and IPs as well as work on exports.”
He cited the example of BAE Systems’ shipbuilding experience which can he used by the Indian shipyards to build vessels for the global market.
“This is how we are going to see a massive growth in UK companies’ footprints in India over the next few years.”
The two Governments acknowledge such a huge potential in co-developments and work towards a ‘win-win’ propositions. Regular meetings, led by top Government officials from both sides, will be held to boost the partnerships hence on.
It will be marriages of the best of UK innovations and the most cost-effective production at Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, he said. fiinews.com
