According to a survey conducted by multinational professional services network, Deloitte, a large proportion of international business leaders remain confident in India’s short- and long-term prospects and are readying plans to make additional and first-time investments in the country.
The India FDI Opportunity survey of September 2021, which questioned 1,200 business leaders of multinational corporations in the U.S., U.K., Japan, and Singapore, found that India remains an attractive destination for investments, scoring highly for its skilled workforce and prospects for economic growth.
- 44 percent of the 1,200 business leaders surveyed are planning additional or first-time investments in India
- Nearly two-thirds of first-time investments will be made within the next two years
- Business perceptions of India are better in the U.S. and UK compared to Singapore and Japan
- Recent reforms by the Indian government to improve ease of doing business are popular, but awareness of policy improvements remains low
It also said that more business leaders, especially in Japan, are making investments in India for access to the domestic market rather than using India as a springboard for exports.
“India has the strongest positive perception in the U.S. when compared to markets such as China, Brazil, Mexico, and Vietnam. The U.S. and U.K. business leaders expressed greater confidence in India’s stability,” it said.
Business leaders in Japan (16 percent) and Singapore (9 percent) were least aware of initiatives such as the digitization of customs clearance and production linked incentives for manufacturers.
India can target attracting greater FDI into seven capital-intensive sectors – textile and apparel, food processing, electronics, pharmaceuticals, vehicles and parts, chemicals and capital goods – that have contributed $181 billion of merchandise exports in 2020-21, it added.
Deloitte Global CEO Punit Renjen said: “We believe the outlook can only get better because of India’s improving ease of business, which includes fiscal benefits and other reforms. These positive steps further convince me that India is moving towards its ambition of a $5 trillion economy.
