NEW DELHI: With border tensions with China appearing to be ebbing, the Centre has decided to clear as many as 45 Chinese investment proposals worth over Rs 20,000 crore. Confirming the development, officials in the finance and commerce ministries told TNIE that these FDI proposals include high-profile ones that have been stuck due to tensions between the two countries. These include the proposal by Chinese auto giant Great Wall Motors to manufacture electric vehicles in India.
Other notable proposals include the one by SAIC Motor Corp and projects in the electronics and power sectors. SAIC, which started selling cars in India in 2019 under its British brand MG Motor, has already invested $400 million in India and wants to bring in more investment bolster its production capacity.Great Wall plans to invest $1 bn in India over the next few years.
“There are about 45 proposals in the pipeline awaiting approvals. The aggregate value of these proposals is Rs 20,000 crore. Now that talks have resumed and tension has eased, those deals are likely to go ahead,” said a commerce ministry official.
Officials clarified that it is not just Chinese companies but several proposals by Hong Kong and Singapore-based companies were also stuck in the process, including a large bunch of private equity investors which were looking to invest in the Indian startups.
“There are about one dozen start-up deals which are stuck, because of want of security clearance. Once it is done, it will bring a big relief for startups which were looking for liquidity in the post Covid period,” said an official. India had tightened the rules for FDI proposals from China amid standoff between the armies of the two nation at the border. India had also banned a numbers of Chinese apps citing security concerns.