India eyes US$10b in foreign investments

India eyes US$10b in foreign investments

by Bloomberg News Service

31st January 2006

MUMBAI, Mon: India aims to attract US$10 billion (US$1 = RM3.75) of foreign investments this year, two-thirds more than in 2005, as it eases rules to attract overseas funds to accelerate economic growth, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said.

"We need to get more capital into mining, especially coal-mining, steel-making, ports and seaports," Chidambaram said in an interview at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland. "The private sector is interested in telecommunications, power, sea ports - and some countries, even in roads."

India is simplifying its investment rules to attract more overseas investment and help close the gap with China, which began to open its economy in 1978, 13 years before India.

China got US$60 billion of foreign investment in 2005, or 10 times the amount India received. The US, Europe and Japan were among the biggest investors in India last year, Chidambaram said. - Bloomberg.