Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrived in Britain for his 3 day visit on 17th January to woo British businesses keen on investing in India, highlighting the initiatives that are taken by the Indian government to make India an attractive destination for global investment. He was hosted by the UK Chancellor George Osborne for dinner in London on arrival with a delegation of prominent Indian (origin) businessmen and cabinet ministers.
On Monday a breakfast meeting with Goldman Sachs was followed by a luncheon interaction organised by MasterCard with prospective investors. An official source said, “The Finance Minister has held a series of meetings with investors and organisations keen on investing in India." Following the meetings, Lord O’Neill, commercial secretary to the UK Treasury at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), hosted a reception for Jaitley.
On Tuesday morning Jaitley delivered a keynote address at the Investors Summit at the London Stock Exchange. Nikhil Rathi (CEO, London Stock Exchange plc & Director of International Development, LSEG), Lord O’Neill of Gatley (Commercial Secretary to the UK Treasury) participated there alongside Dr Rana Kapoor (Founder, Managing Director and CEO, Yes Bank) and Polina Kurdyavko (Co-head Emerging Markets Debt, BlueBay).
The event was followed by another investors meet, jointly organised by Kotak Mahindra Bank in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Jaitley then headed to 11 Downing Street, the office of the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, to make his official address to the India-UK Financial Partnership. This was followed by the eighth round of the India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue after which Jaitley and Osborne were meant to have a joint briefing for the media.
Jaitley highlighted initiatives taken by India over the last few months to make it a more attractive destination for global investment. The stability of the Indian economy amid global turmoil was expected to be the central theme as the Finance Minister left for Switzerland evening on Tuesday to attend the World Economic Forum.
The Indian delegation included RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Trade and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The prominent Indian business leaders were: Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Cyrus Mistry, Anand Mahindra, Rahul Bajaj, Azim Premji, Adi Godrej, Chanda Kochhar, Uday Kotak, Hari S Bhartia, Shyam Sunder Bhartia, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Naresh Goyal, Sunil Mittal, Rana Kapoor, Anant Gupta and C P Gurnani.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, would be attended by more than 2,500 participants from across the world, including 40 heads of state.
The Chancellor George Osborne and Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before parting, reached a number of agreements to build on the economic relationship between the UK and India.
Speaking following the EFD, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: The agreements we’ve made today are another important step in deepening economic ties between Britain and India.
“Working together across infrastructure and financial services we will be able to solve key shared challenges which will help us create growth in both of our economies.
“I want to thank Arun and his team for travelling to London and for making today’s talks a success, as we bring our two great economies closer together
Agreements reached during the EFD include:
Indian National Infrastructure Partnership: The agreement will see the UK government support the delivery of major infrastructure projects in India across key sectors including smart cities, renewable energy and railways, all of which are vital for India’s future growth.
This initiative will support India’s development and may also present significant new commercial opportunities for UK businesses offering expertise in infrastructure delivery and financial & professional services.
Liberalising the Indian Legal Services Market: India will press ahead with liberalising the Indian legal services market to allow foreign lawyers the right to operate in India.
This will act as a catalyst for international investment in India and give businesses the access they need to international legal advice. It will also bring new opportunities for the UK profession, who will benefit from being offered similar rights to those that Indian firms already enjoy in the UK, allowing them to enter partnerships with Indian firms and bring their specialist expertise to India.
One of the Justice Ministers in the UK, Shailesh Vara commended the positive discussions on liberalisation of the Indian legal services sector at the Economic and Financial Dialogue, welcoming Indian Finance Minister Jaitley’s support for the process.
He said: “I am delighted with the progress made in seeking to liberalise the Indian legal sector and I commend Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s commitment. This is a cause that I have been championing personally for many years, ever since I saw the value liberalisation would bring when working as a solicitor. The UK’s experience of an open legal services sector has been a hugely positive one, giving business the access it needs to international legal advice and helping make London the global legal hub it has become. I am confident that India’s decision to move down this path will benefit everyone, and be a real catalyst for bilateral trade and investment. My department stands ready to help the Indian Government progress this important reform in any way that would be helpful.”
Rupee Bond Commitments: Both sides welcomed the prospect of a pipeline of rupee bond issuances in London by Indian corporates, and agreed that the first such public sector issuance would be by the Indian Railway Finance Corporation.
This will help build on the success of rupee bond issuances in London by the International Finance Corporation, and demonstrates the UK’s position as a business partner of choice for the world’s fastest growing economies.
As the rupee markets build, London’s capital markets will play a key role in financing India’s continued rapid economic growth.
Fintech tie-ups: Both nations agreed to substantially strengthen links between the leading FinTech communities in India and Britain. This includes significant joint commitments to high-profile FinTech trade missions between the two nations and major steps towards UK FinTech companies helping to deliver ‘digital India’, covering priority areas like access to finance for micro-enterprises.
FirstGroup to provide shuttle busses at Indian IT park: FirstGroup, the leading Transport operator in the UK and North America, is to operate employee shuttle buses at the Hinjewadi IT Park in Pune, India.
The five year contract will commence in April 2016 initially at Hinjewadi and is expected to expand across the country.
The Group will use its shuttle bus expertise from existing First Transit operations in North America and is working with local partner, bus manufacturer Tata, who will maintain the vehicles.
The Tintometer commits to £1m investment in India: Lovibond Tintometer - a leading UK supplier of water analysis equipment based in Wiltshire - has committed to setting up a factory and sales service operation in Hyderabad with the aim of enhancing the production of instruments and chemical reagents to meet the rapidly growing demand for high quality water testing products in India. Tintometer will be investing over £1 million in this project over the first three years.
Pell Frischmann win consulting contracts in Mumbai: London based consulting engineering firm Pell Frischmann has announced winning three major contracts in the Mumbai region. The contracts have been awarded by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and will see Pell Frischmann evaluating the detailed project report and bid process management of the 33 km Mumbai Coastal Road project, alongside two contracts for major Waste Water Treatment Works located in Mumbai suburbs.
Dryden Aqua to install 5,000 drinking water systems in rural communities in £500,000 deal: Edinburgh based Dryden Aqua, a marine biological company specializing in water quality and treatment technology, has secured a contract to install their product in 5,000 rural community drinking water systems in India during 2016.
The current project is valued at £500,000 for this year, with the technology improving the availability of clean drinking water in these communities.
FinTech accelerator ‘startupbootcamp’ to set-up in Mumbai: Recognising the development of the Fintech sector in India, Startupbootcamp FinTech, the leading UK based accelerator focusing on financial services innovation, will soon launch a branch in Mumbai.
This new branch will enable the growth of the overall FinTech ecosystem in India and foster the next generation of innovative startups in this exciting region.
Diabetacare agrees £500,000 partnership with King George’s Medical University in Lucknow: Diabetacare has procured a partnership project for Diabetes Services in King George’s Medical College, Lucknow - India’s largest Hospital with over 3600 inpatient beds.
The contract will see Diabetacare invest approximately £500,000 over a two year period, with nurses being trained to become specialist nurses in diabetes - directly supporting Prime Minister Modi’s National Skills Development Mission.
DelAgua sign £700,000 water testing deal in West Bengal: UK based water testing company Del Agua has won a £700,000 contract from the Government of West Bengal to run a water testing programme for the entire state for 1 year.
This project will help safeguard the local population from various water contaminants such as arsenic and fluoride.
CDE Global and Bhartia Family win £1 million processing plant contract: A joint venture between CDE Global – a leading supplier of washing equipment for quarries and mines - and its Indian partner Bhartia Family, has won a contract worth £1 million to design, engineer and install a processing plant for the waste from construction and demolition.
This green technology will be used to convert waste into high quality high value materials.
Templar Executives Ltd agree security training partnership: UK based Templar Executives Ltd have partnered with Cyber Security Integrators (India) Pvt Ltd. to provide online and specialised Cyber security training and advisory services to Indian corporations and government agencies.
It is seen as in one of the first ‘Cyber Value Exchange’ initiatives between UK and India.
Darktrace open up in Mumbai: Cambridge head-quartered security firm Darktrace is announcing that its award-wining ‘Enterprise Immune System’ technology will become more easily available to the Indian market as it opens an office in Mumbai.
Apollo Hospitals to partner with Health Education England: Apollo Hospitals, India and Asia’s largest healthcare group, have signed a memorandum of understanding with Health Education England (HEE) to promote co-operation and interaction in healthcare education between India and the UK.
The partnership will aim to deliver the highest possible quality of care to the patients in UK, India and the region, while enhancing the quality of education and exposure to students.
BRC Global Standards to expand into India: BRC Global Standards - a leading food safety and quality certification programme - is launching an expansion in India in 2016.
To capitalise on India as one of the fastest growing countries for their market, the firm is looking to appoint a local representative and opening an office in India.
Yes Bank signs MoU with London Stock Exchange Group
Yes Bank, India’s fifth largest private bank, on Tuesday 19 January formalised the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with The London Stock Exchange during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UK visit in November 2015, to develop bond and equity issuance, with particular focus on the relatively untapped sector of Green Infrastructure Finance.
As part of the agreement with LSEG, Yes Bank confirmed that it plans to list a Green Bond of up to $500m on London Stock Exchange by December 2016. Yes Bank will also evaluate the possibility of raising further capital in London, potentially through the listing of Global Depository Receipts (GDR) as part of its overall $1bn of equity capital raising plans, basis market conditions.
The agreement, signed by Dr Rana Kapoor and Nikhil Rathi will help strengthen the increasingly vibrant economic and financial ties between the UK and India.
Speaking about the collaboration Dr Kapoor said: “Following the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UK, the Yes Bank – LSEG strategic MoU presents an incredible opportunity to create mutually beneficial partnerships. Yes bank will strive to improve the access to long term overseas funds for corporations in India, through capital markets in the UK particularly towards Green Infrastructure Financing, which is high on India’s agenda. We also look forward to working with LSE in establishing London as the leading instrument for raising rupee denominated offshore capital via ‘Masala bonds’.”
Nikhil Rathi said: "London is the world’s most international financial market and has a long history working with partners in India. London Stock Exchange is a natural partner for Yes Bank for their significant debt and equity issuances and as a partner for their clients. Yes Bank is a leader in sustainable finance in India. Today we are honoured to welcome Mr. Rana Kapoor and his team from Yes Bank to sign this important MoU which demonstrates our commitment to supporting the raising of green capital for India."
