India’s investment allure grows stronger
TEXT OF STORY
SCOTT JAGOW: Billions of dollars are pouring into India’s stock market. Plus, foreign direct investment into India almost tripled last fiscal year to $16 billion. Ashley Milne-Tyte tells us what’s so attractive.
ASHLEY MILNE-TYTE: India used to hold few temptations for foreign investors — endless red tape and poor infrastructure — but all that’s changing.
Jyoti Narasimhan of forecasting firm Global Insight says this year’s jump in foreign investment is the result of an ongoing cycle.
Since the ’90s, the government has streamlined bureaucracy, made credit more available and created tax-free zones to lure investors.
JYOTI NARASIMHAN: And now, we see a lot of new inroads in eliminating or certainly easing up on regulations in the retail sector and telecommunications sector, which is of course what everyone seems to be interested in.
Last year, Nokia invested $150 million in an Indian cell phone plant, which employs nearly 4,000 people. And IBM has said it will invest $6 billion in the country in the next three years.
Narasimhan says those foreign investment figures are likely to stay in the double-digits for years to come.
In New York, I’m Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.
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