MUMBAI: UAE investors deliberated on setting up a $75-billion infrastructure fund for India to invest in brownfield projects with a shorter turnaround time, at the Economic Times India-UAE Strategic Conclave in Dubai last week.
"It was felt that greenfield projects had large gestation periods and as such did not evince much interest. Brownfield projects, on the other hand, with shorter turnaround times and constituting retro-fitting existing infrastructure, were deemed far more viable and evoked greater attention," stated ET Edge in a press statement.
The conclave brought government and business leaders together and explored the potential of bilateral and business ties between both the countries. It was organised under the aegis of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development.
Participants deliberated over vital issues pertaining to speeding expediting the investment mechanism in India. UAE investors also showed interest in India's healthcare sector, especially in the Tier 1 and 2 cities where there’s a large population base with a high propensity to spend on healthcare.
"There are direct economic gains to cover the strategic goal of safeguarding and boosting both the countries’ status as major trade hubs and key gateways to regional and international markets," said HE Mohammed Sharaf, Assistant Foreign Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs, UAE.
Sharaf noted that there is $35.8 billion non-oil trade and $6.9 billion oil trade in 2016 between the two countries. With this volume of bilateral trade, India remains as the second largest market for the UAE’s oil and non-oil exports, while the UAE represents the second largest market for Indian goods worldwide, he added.
"There has never been a better time to expand the business connections links between India and the UAE. There are enormous Indian investments in to the UAE. We want to see much more business and investment interests from the UAE into India," said Navdeep Suri, Indian Ambassador to the UAE.
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com