The ‘Commonwealth Trade Review 2018: Strengthening the Commonwealth Advantage‘, compiled by the Commonwealth Secretariat, says that India is the top recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) from within the Commonwealth and is the second-most lucrative source of investment within the 53-member organization after the U.K. “Between 2005 and 2016, India remained the top recipient of greenfield FDI from the Commonwealth, more than doubling the amount it received over 10 years…India is the leading country for attracting greenfield FDI, not only from the Commonwealth but also from the world. In 2015, it overtook China for the first time as the biggest destination for greenfield FDI,” the report notes.
The review also found that India has moved into the top five providers of intra-Commonwealth services trade, surpassing Canada, and alongside Australia, Singapore and the U.K. “With world trade growth forecast to rebound in 2018, the Commonwealth appears on track to achieve $700 billion in intra-Commonwealth trade in goods and services by 2020, while proactive policy measures can trigger even greater gains,” the report notes.
According to the findings, the “dramatic rise” in the increased prominence of intra-Commonwealth investment is driven by India, a country which also presents enormous potential across economic sectors from the application of digital technologies.
