'Nearly 50 British cos keen on investing in India this fiscal'
About 50 Indian companies are keen on investing in the UK in the current fiscal, mainly in sectors like IT, financial services, life sciences and advanced engineering, an UK official today said.
"This year (fiscal) we expect to support about 50 Indian investments, including large, medium and small companies," First Secretary and Head of UK Trade and Investment (North India) Paul Grey told reporters on the sidelines of a Ficci function here.
However, Grey did not disclose the names of the companies, which are keen on investing in Britain. At present, there are about 700 Indian companies like Tata Motors, TCS, Wipro and Tata Steel operating in the UK.
According to official estimates, Indian companies have invested over USD 3 billion in Britain. Asked whether issues like corruption and slow economic growth have discouraged British companies to invest in India, he said, "I think there is a high-level of interest in India and the British companies are exploring new opportunities seriously."
He added, lots of investments are coming into India in sectors, including infrastructure, engineering and retail, to take advantage of the consumer opportunities. On British firms investments plans in India, Grey said, "We work with up to 2,000 companies every year from Britain who want to do more business here. Most of them over time will set up their own operations in India."
There are various British companies, including HSBC and Standard Chartered, which are already operating in India.
