The Hindu Business Line : ‘Citigroup will continue to invest in India’

Financial services major Citigroup Inc will continue to invest in India and play a constructive role to facilitate additional economic growth in the country, said its Chairman, Mr Win Bischoff.

Addressing the first International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)-Citi India Global Forum here on Friday, Mr Bischoff said he saw substantial growth opportunities for Citi in India.

He said India had all the components that were key to stable growth, including growing consumption rates, young population, increasing investments in industrial capacity and strong democratic set up.

“India is an important country for our international business strategy. It is one of our largest, most complex and organically grown markets — but we are also committed to being a partner in the cooperative spirit of improving the lives of people in the communities where we live and work,” Mr Bischoff said.

Citi, he said, believed that India was fast maturing towards becoming a major economy, with correspondingly greater responsibilities in the global financial system and economy. Currently, Citi employs in India more than 22,000 people and maintains more than 7 million accounts.

As India’s largest Foreign Direct Investor (FDI) in the financial service industry, Mr Bischoff said that Citi looks forward to working with the Indian Government and various agencies to attract more FDI into the country.