The much- awaited India-Oman Joint Investment Fund will be signed early July during the visit of the minister of national economy Ahmed bin Abdul-Nabi Macki, also Oman?s acting minister of finance.
Talking to FE, Humaid Al Maani, ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman, said, ?Our minister of economy will visit India next month and the MoU will be inked then. Under this agreement, both the countries can use the funds to further develop infrastructure, tourism, education, etc.? The envoy also said the 50-50 venture signifies closer ties and mutual trust both countries share. The partnership fund would evaluate investment opportunities in both the countries and decide on merit. The investment could be in any sphere?it should only be beneficial to both the countries, he said. Once the fund is in place, it will encourage more direct investments from both sides in various sectors.
The fund will initially have a corpus of $100 million, which could go up to $1.5 billion and will primarily be used to finance infrastructure development, education, tourism and IT training. Apart from infrastructure, another major sector where this fund could be useful is education. ?We are holding talks with several educational institutions to open up their franchises in Muscat. Areas like IT, training institutes for human resources, are important to us,? Humaid Al Maani said.
Senior Ficci officials said during the joint working group meeting in April, in which Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia was leading the Indian side in Muscat, the broadbase of the MoU was discussed and finalised. Some of the sectors identified for focused attention were agriculture, IT, education and training, manufacturing, earth sciences and R&D.
Anil Wadhwa, India?s ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, said, ?The India-Oman Joint Investment Fund is very special because the fund is the first of its kind that India has set up with any country in the world, which reflects the importance that India attaches to its relationship with Oman.?
In 2009, Oman was the first country in West Asia to announce the setting up of such a fund in partnership with India.
In November 2008, India?s largest commercial bank, State Bank of India and Oman?s State General Reserve Fund signed an MoU to promote a joint investment fund with a corpus of $100 million, to be contributed equally. The MoU is valid for two years from the date of signing and can be extended by mutual consent of the two parties, according to officials.
Horasis biz meet from June 21
The Horasis Global India Business Meeting, starting from June 21 in Spain, will bring together more than 300 business leaders from all over the world.
Participants at the two-day meet will discuss possible lines of cooperation aimed at overcoming the global economic downturn, and India as an investor and destination for investment. The meeting will be inaugurated by Anand Sharma, minister of commerce & industry, and Miguel Sebasti?n, Spain?s minister of trade, industry and tourism. Sharma, who will be accompanied by high level official as well as a business delegation, is scheduled to meet US President Barack Obama.
The meet will also be attended by Madrid?s Regional President, Esperanza Aguirre, along with other dignitaries and representatives of the governments of India and Spain.
The meeting is organised by Horasis and co-hosted by Ficci and Casa Asia?an institution under the Spanish government with ICEX, the Municipality of Madrid and PromoMadrid (Regional government of Madrid).
As a result of close partnership, the annual Global India Business Meeting is regarded as the foremost annual gathering of Indian business leaders and their global counterparts. A select group of global leaders will gather to create a powerful platform for cooperation between India and the rest of the world.