NRIs and Foreign Investors React Positively to Budget

MUMBAI: Foreign investors and non-resident Indian businesspersons today hailed India's new general budget expressing the hope that it would lead to greater inflow of foreign investment.

The investors and NRIs welcomed the raising of ceiling of foreign institutional investment, reduction of tax on foreign companies, abolition of corporate tax surcharge and tax on dividends and replacement of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).

"Bold and courageous new steps have been outlined by the Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram and these should lead to creation of an investor friendly environment,'' top officials of major British companies, which pumped in heavy investments in India, told PTI.

International bankers and executives of major multinational companies said the new budgetary measures would help investments in infrastructure and telecom sectors should revive investment flow into the country.

Top NRI investors in Britain, Dubai and Singapore appreciated the budget's voluntary disclosure scheme to flush out black money and said what was now needed is boldness and willingness to enforce it.

London-based NRI businessman SP Hinduja said, ''the budget is tailored for growth of all sectors which should be helpful in reviving flagging industrial scene.''

He said bold new moves had been made to create an ''investor-friendly atmosphere'' which India badly needed at this juncture.

The new amnesty scheme to contend with a parallel black money economy should introduce the concept of transparency and accountability, Hinduja said.

Saying Finance Minister P Chidambaram had ''made good of a difficult job,'' Lord Swraj Paul, a member of the British House of Lords and Chairman of the Caparo group of companies, stressed what was needed now was a will to implement the new policies, specially the one dealing with black money.

''The budget has definitely proved to be beyond expectations,'' said chairman of Dubai-based overseas Indian Economic Forum Ram Buxni.

Manu Chhabria, another Dubai-based NRI industrialist, said the budget would enable the economy to grow faster and welcomed the proposals to slash capital gains tax and abolish dividend tax saying these manifested the Indian government's determination to push through boldly the liberalization despite political constraints.

The budget shows ''positive'' signs as far as foreign investors are concerned and it is sure to change the minds of NRIs and investors alike,'' DD Gupta, Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

He welcomed the reduction of customs duty on capital goods and inputs for steel as also the slash in corporate tax, but wondered how the fiscal deficit could be covered. (PTI)

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