The Hindu Business Line : ‘Indo-British trade, investment ties booming’

New Delhi, Sept. 9 Indo-British partnership for trade in goods and services, as also investment has never been better with many Indian companies increasingly realising that there is no restriction for them to working in, operating from or acquiring companies in England.

Talking to Business Line here after the inaugural of the UK India Business Council office here on Monday, the Council Chairman Lord Bilimoria said that in the five years of the Indo-British partnership “I have been chairing from the UK side, we have seen a significant increase in trade and investment bilaterally. Look at the trade in goods and services when I started and soon it would double to touch £10 billion. Investments we are getting at levels currently, I don’t think, anyone expected in the last 18 months”.

He cited the multi-billion dollar investment of Tata- Corus and Vodofone Hutch in recent time in Britain.

Stating that the amount of heightened business activity among companies of UK and India was ‘fantastic’, he said Indian companies are investing in London Stock Exchanges as they have realised that Britain is one of the world’s most open economies, a launching pad for Europe and geographically closer to the US. Underpinning all these, he said, is the stronger and good relationship between the two countries — people to people, business to business and government to government.

Asked about industrial tariffs in India, he said, “this has to come down if India wants to continue to be a free market”. He said a lot of barriers must come down. Foreign lawyers cannot practise in India. This affects Indian business and Indian lawyers would get more jobs if foreign law firms enter into the country, he added.

The Union Law Minister, Mr H.R. Bhardwaj, for the first time said in London a year ago that “we will open our legal services”, Mr Bilimoria said adding that “it is in their own interests of Indian lawyers to welcome foreign legal firms as Indian business definitely wants this.”

He said accounting services liberalisation by India would help the services greatly. Similarly, banks should be allowed to open up branches in India as British banks are willing to open rural branches for micro financing and there is huge potential.

‘Manufacturing sector slowdown cyclical’

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Director-General, Mr Richard Lambert, described the manufacturing sector slowdown in India as “cyclical”, stating that “business cycles come and go and the government could not do much, though over the long term the thing to accelerate growth is how to increase productivity and be competitive.”

Asked about the recent stalemate in Tata Motors small car project Nano, Mr Lambert said “Tata has a great reputation as it has made impressive investment in Corus. People are interested and there is a concern that if Tata runs into trouble in West Bengal, this would raise a question mark on foreign companies interested in India”.

To a query on inflation clouding investment prospects in India, Mr Lambert said that “inflation is a global phenomenon and the current inflation rate in the UK is twice the one from the recent past”.

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