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UAE Freezones Biz News Updates
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UAE, India trade to hit $100 billion by 2020
A lot of UAE investors are focusing on infrastructure in India
Economic trade and investment between the UAE and India are growing as there
has been strong interest from companies and investors from the UAE to invest
in the Southeast Asian country, with bilateral trade projected to reach $100
billion by 2020, according to speakers at a 'Destination India' summit
organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) UAE
(Dubai) chapter on Saturday.
Vipul, Consul-General of India in Dubai, said bilateral trade is "very good
between the two countries. It's more than $50 billion and our leadership has
set a target of 60 per cent growth in the next five years. We hope it will
be worth $100 billion. We are equally interested in the investment side and
hope to get more and more investments from the UAE. A target of
approximately $75 billion was set for a joint investment fund when Prime
Minister Narendra Modi visited the UAE. Things are moving in that direction
and we're making good progress on that front."
Vipul sees a lot of UAE investors are focusing on infrastructure as India is
growing at a fast pace in addition to other industries such as agriculture,
power, oil and gas among others.
During the Indian prime minister's visit to the UAE, an announcement was
made to set up a $75 billion joint fund to invest in infrastructure
projects.
The Confederation of Indian Industry also forecast earlier this year that
trade between India and the UAE is set to hit $100 billion by 2020, up from
the current $60 billion.
"Our countries now have a comprehensive strategic partnership and this
provides the foundation to expand ties in the coming years in a range of
sectors. A primary aim of our side has been to encourage the UAE to
substantially enhance its investments in India, especially in the
infrastructure sector," he added.
Pankaj Mundra, chairman of ICAI UAE (Dubai) chapter, said bilateral trade
between the UAE and India can be increased further as the number of banks in
the UAE has increased, hence, facilitating and financing the trade in a
better and quicker way.
"We only had the Bank of Baroda earlier, but now we have more than 10 banks
in the Dubai International Financial Centre to fund this UAE-India trade.
Being chartered accountants, we can play a crucial role in terms of bringing
multinational and Emirati firms to India in sectors such as manufacturing,
services, banking, etc., as our members hold key positions like CEOs or CFOs
with companies. The ICAI's 2,500 members are working with 1,300 companies
and they play a major role in decision-making about investments. We can
advise clients to invest in India," he added.
One company a day
Highlighting closer ties between the UAE and India, Gautam Sashittal,
CEO of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), said at least one Indian
company approaches the free zone on every working day.
"Out of 14,000 companies in the DMCC, over 2,000 are from India, making up
about 14 per cent of the total. In addition, our DMCC Tea Centre handles 45
million kilos of tea a year, out of which four million kilos originate from
India - so, it is a substantial interface between Dubai and India. Today,
Dubai has become the largest re-exporter of tea."
Similarly, he pointed out that almost a third of the global trade in Indian
rupee futures happens on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange, which is
one of the largest and fastest-growing markets in the region. "In addition,
we also facilitate and regulate the gold and diamond trade in Dubai, which
between them account for $75 billion annually. Almost a third of this trade
is with India," he noted.
August 12, 2017
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Courtesy Khaleej Times
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