Declining energy costs make US an attractive investment destination.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: India’s Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the US have increased, earning India the position as America’s eighth fastest-growing source of FDIs.
The announcement of the FDI boost came from John M. McCaslin, the Minister Council for Commercial Affairs from the US Commercial Service in New Delhi.
The US has received $300 billion in total FDI’s annually, with about $9 billion of that coming from India in 2012. That’s up from the $7 billion India invested in the US in 2011, an increase of 28.5%. On the flip side of that coin, America’s FDIs into India have also gone up over the same period, from $24.66 billion to $28.38 billion, an increase of 15.1%.
McCaslin credited the discovery of large new deposits of shale gas reserves within the US as the main reason for the upsurge, saying that declining energy costs have made the US far more attractive from an investment standpoint and that the US will become the world’s largest oil exporter within the next decade.
McCaslin also predicted that the future of the US-India bilateral relationship would also grow substantially, telling the media in New Delhi, “the bilateral trade is expected to touch $100 billion in 2013,” meaning there is cause of optimism with regards to relations between the two democracies.
Additionally, in regards to bilateral trade, McCaslin highlighted sectors that he felt would prove indispensable to increasing commerce between the US and India, specifically healthcare, automotive and airport infrastructure, in addition to renewable energy.
McClasin also called for deregulation between the US and India, saying that a more transparent and simplified regulatory program would directly lead to increased trade.