EBRD President Chakrabarti to visits India

Will discuss investment opportunities with Indian companies, senior government officials

Author(s):    Anthony Williams
Date:    01 March 2013

Sir Suma Chakrabarti, the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), will discuss investment opportunities for Indian corporations in emerging democracies during a visit to India from 4-7 March.

Established in 1991 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the EBRD supports the development of well-functioning market economies, primarily in central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and more recently in countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Investing mainly in the private sector, the EBRD often teams with high-quality corporations to ensure a transfer of technology and know-how to emerging economies.

During his visit, Sir Suma will hold talks with leading Indian industrial and banking groups such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries, JSW, Tata and EXIM Bank and ICICI Bank in Mumbai before meeting senior government officials, including Finance Minister Chidambaram, in New Delhi.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Sir Suma said, “There has already been good cooperation with Indian companies in the past. But given the size of the Indian private sector and its existing interest in EBRD countries of operations the cooperation should be much greater.”

The EBRD President will point particularly to new investment opportunities in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region. The EBRD started investing in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan last year in the wake of the events of the “Arab Spring”.

The EBRD invests across the economic spectrum in the countries where it is active – but sectors of particular interest for Indian companies could be manufacturing and services, such as petrochemicals, automotives, metal and steel production, as well as agribusiness, communications and information technology.

The cumulative value of joint India-EBRD investments since the EBRD started operations stood at €806.8 million as of 31 December 2012.