6 days ago
- Business
- United News of India
SL can attract Indian firms looking to expand abroad: ITC chief
Colombo, July 6 (UNI) Indian companies who have expanded and become competitive under Free Trade Agreements are now looking to expand abroad and Sri Lanka had a good chance due to proximity, ITC chief Sanjiv Puri said today.
Over the past 10 years, India has rapidly opened up, under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'India is in the process of and has signed FTAs. Many more FTAs are coming,' Puri said in Colombo at an event which brought together local business leaders and representatives of ruling and opposition parties at ITC Ratnadeepa, built by his own group, according to media reports.
'Manufacturing, especially high-tech manufacturing is reviving at a very rapid pace, electronics, semiconductors.'
The delegation of CEOs from the Confederation of Indian Industry headed by Puri that visited SriLanka was asked why they were looking to invest in Sri Lanka if India was growing so fast. Puri is the immediate past President of the CII, the economynext reported.
'They have become competitive, have access to technology, have their own strengths,' he explained.
'And now the aspirations are also larger in the Indian enterprises to go beyond geography.
'Now there is this aspiration and it's a natural process.'
'And some companies will choose to go to proximal countries. Some companies will choose to go elsewhere. Some companies will go far off.'
Last month, an Indian shipbuilding firm bought into Colombo Dockyard and is expected to take control by injecting cash into the troubled firm.
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