Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Indian firms could soon list in London as part of a series of commitments unveiled following a high-level meeting in New Delhi recently as part of the 12th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).
The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman and the UK side was led by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.
The launch of a UK-India Infrastructure Financing Bridge was also announced, which will be coled by Indian public policy think tank NITI Aayog and the City of London Corporation. The initiative will focus on sharing expertise in structuring and financing major infrastructure projects. The collaborative initiative will leverage expertise and investment in support of India’s National Infrastructure Pipeline.
In addition, a new UK-India Pensions and Insurance Partnership will support the growth of the sector in both countries. The partnership will focus on knowledge sharing, growing bilateral investment and diversifying risk, including through pension fund trade missions to encourage increased bilateral investment.
“We remain committed to collaborate, deliberate and innovate to navigate the challenges, and seize the opportunities that lie ahead for both nations,” said Sitharaman after the meeting on Monday, September 11.
“I’m very proud of the progress we’ve made through the UK-India EFD this time. It’s a big step forward to hear India confirming that they’ll explore the London Stock Exchange as an international destination for the direct listing of Indian companies,” said Hunt.
“I see India as Asia’s Silicon Valley and the UK as Europe’s Silicon Valley, so there’s a lot we can work on together,” he stated. There was optimism in terms of the activities being done by India to promote financial services and investment in GIFT IFSC and UK’s commitment to support the same.
India and the UK have also agreed to conduct investment negotiations in parallel with the goods negotiations to conclude their free trade agreement (FTA) talks.
The focus of EFD was also towards enhancement of the knowledge exchange, cooperation and support between India and the UK to further the infrastructure development priorities, robust FinTech partnership and Sustainable Finance towards long-term growth objectives. The Dialogue concluded with the adoption of the Joint Statement by the Union Finance Minister of India and Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom.
The EFD follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s visit to Delhi for the G20 leaders’ summit, where he announced that the UK will provide $2 billion to the Green Climate Fund – the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change, which will make a significant contribution towards the UK’s pledge to spend £11.6 billion on international climate finance, cementing our global climate leadership.
Total trade between the UK and India was worth £36.6 billion in the last financial year, up over 34 per cent year on year, with an £82 million increase in UK-Indian financial services trade over last year.
BLURB: India and the UK have also agreed to conduct investment negotiations in parallel with the goods negotiations to conclude their free trade agreement (FTA) talks.
