India has reasons to cheer as MNCs evince interest to invest

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has hit the headlines by announcing a $10-billion investment in India. The investment will be made in the next five to seven years.

Prior to Google, the Taiwanese major Foxconn that assembles Apple I-phones in India, said it was ready up to invest $1billion. South Korean giant Samsung too is planning to ramp up its investments in the country. The company has already pledged an investment of over $500 million in India. It is setting up a manufacturing plant just outside the national capital.

India is moving fast to woo foreign investors as many seek to relocate their manufacturing facilities as tensions between Washington and Beijing rise.

Invest India, the nodal investment body, said that it has been receiving multiple enquiries from several other potential investors especially from Japan, US and Europe.

All in all, this suggests that India continues to be a bright spot and remains a favorite hub for investors.

Singapore's Temasek has also reportedly initiated talks with online food delivery giant Zomato for putting in about $100 million into the company. The US-based Qualcomm and Facebook have already announced their investments into Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio.

Insiders said that many companies are already exploring opportunities.

Speaking at the India Global Week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week said that reform measures were underway and that India was ready to roll out the red carpet for foreign investors.

“India remains one of the most open economies in the world. India is laying a red carpet for all global companies to come and establish their presence in India. Very few countries offer the kind of opportunities that India does today,” Modi said, adding that there were multiple opportunities in various sunrise sectors.

“India offers scale and now with China coming under scanner for various reasons—not just its handling of the coronavirus—but also for its political moves, many companies are looking to invest here,” a top executive of a US-based multinational said.

Diversifying risks and localizing in a market with a huge potential are driving investors.

Gopal Krishna Agarwal, BJP's national spokesperson on economic affairs said that democracy and demography are India's biggest strengths, which will draw investments.

In January 2020, Amazon India announced an investment of $1 billion aimed at digitizing small and medium businesses. The investment is expected to create one million jobs by 2025. The same month, Mastercard announced its investment plans of up to $1 billion in the country. This would be done in five years to double-up its research and development efforts for the Indian market.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India touched $49.97 billion in FY20 from $44.36 billion a year earlier—a 13 per cent jump. According to official data, Singapore was the top FDI source, accounting for $14.67 billion..