Amid uncertain economic and business conditions globally, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent UK visit assumes significance with both the countries committing greater investment and cooperation.
Sources in the finance ministry said that the finance minister’s UK visit – to attend the 13th Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) on April 9th -- could prove to be an important milestone in the growing economic ties between the two countries. According to sources, a delegation of UK businessmen visited the finance minister on Wednesday to further inquire about investment opportunities in India.
During her visit to the UK, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman succeeded in getting trade and investment commitments worth 400 million pounds from businesses in the UK.
Barclays Bank PLC India has announced capital injection of over £210 million into its Indian operations, affirming its long-term commitment to India. Barclays latest investment in the country is aimed at growing its businesses across the Investment and private banking in India.
HSBC Bank has promised to expand its presence from the current 14 cities to 34 cities in India. This expansion will enable the bank to cover approximately 95% of India’s wealth market, reinforcing their commitment to India.
Standard Chartered Bank, another financial major from the UK, has announced that it has shifted to larger office premises at GIFT City. British International Investment Plc (BII) has committed $10 million to the agritech startup -- Grow Indigo. UK’s Prudential group has made the announcement of launching their first fully owned global services hub in Bengaluru and third joint venture in India establishing a standalone health insurance business. UK firm Wise has announced plans to open a new office in Hyderabad.
Among Indian companies which have committed investment in the UK include fintech major Paytm, IT firm MphasisBarclays in note has said that the UK and India should deliver a new bilateral investment treaty to deepen investment flows. “This treaty should incorporate both FDI and portfolio flows, minimise the number of sector carve-outs to areas related to national security, and simplify regulatory and legal steps,” it said.
The UK is one of the major contributors of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India with a cumulative investment of $36 billion, which is 5% of India’s total FDI investment since 2000.