Indian pharma industry to gain from free trade agreement with Gulf nations
PTI
Indian pharma industry to gain from free trade agreement with Gulf nations
Dubai, Oct 13:
The Indian pharmaceuticals and chemicals industry will be among the biggest beneficiaries of a free trade agreement between the GCC and India, a leading banker in the region has said.
Mr R. Seetharaman, Group CEO of Doha Bank, said Indian pharmaceutical and chemical companies will be able to export their products to the lucrative GCC region.
He was speaking at a session organised as part of the second World Tamil Conference, which was held in Dubai.
“GCC-India trade exceeded $80 billion during the three quarters ending December 2010, and can exceed $100 billion for the year 2010-11. It could exceed $130 billion by 2013-14,” Mr Seetharaman said while moderating a special session, titled, ‘Investment opportunities in India and GCC countries’, at the event.
“There are several potential sectors for investment by Indian entrepreneurs in the GCC, including information technology, telecommunications, education, healthcare services, tourism and the hotel industry, banking and financial services, oil, gas and petrochemicals, electricity, housing, road and rail networks,” he said.
“The GCC investment in India has significantly increased in the last two years and is now estimated at more than $125 billion,” he added.
The Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr V. Narayansamy, was the special guest on the panel.
The panel members included the Andhra Pradesh Department of Industries Commissioner, Mr R. Karikavalan, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Guidance and Export Promotion Bureau Executive Vice-Chairman, Mr M. Velmurgan, former UNIDO Principal Advisor to the Director-General, Mr V. Jabamalai, Coimbatore-based Bharatiyar University Professor and Head-Department of Economics, Mr B. Muniyandy, and the Bharatiyar University Department of Economics Professor, Mr K. Govindrajulu.
During the session, Mr Seetharaman gave his outlook on the Indian economy. He also extended the discussion to the investment trends in India on account of measures announced in the Union Budget, the latest banking regulations and the Indian textiles industry.
He also spoke about the recent Budget announcements of Tamil Nadu, incentives for Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and trends for FIIs in the Indian insurance industry.
