In an attempt to diversify its business activity beyond oil, the UAE capital city of Abu Dhabi is seeking more investments from India to not only benefit the local economy, but also allow Indian companies to use it as a platform to grow their footprints globally. The city has identified priority sectors such as agritech, tourism, healthcare, pharma and financial services, for Indian enterprises to invest. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Alshamsi, Acting Director General of Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) told media that his office will assist all investment opportunities for Indian companies. He als
The vast Indian diaspora will send home more than $100 billion in yearly remittances in 2022, says a World Bank report published on Wednesday. Asia’s third largest economy will reach the milestone figure for the first time, the report added. Remittances are money transfers from migrant workers to families back home. These money transfers are an important source of income for households and help in reducing poverty and driving healthy social indicators such as higher school enrollment rates for children. The World Bank report noted that over the last few years, Indians have moved from
Benchmark BSE Sensex crossed the 63,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday, extending its winning momentum to seventh day due to a largely positive trend in global markets and constant foreign fund inflows. The broader NSE Nifty also hit a record high at around 18,800. Extending gains from the previous session, Indian stock indices rose on Tuesday morning and hit fresh lifetime highs. The Indian stock markets got the boost from strong inflows of foreign funds, relative strength of the Rupee, and a clue from the US Federal Reserve on slowing down on policy rates. The minutes of the US Fed
The Tata Group on Tuesday announced the merger of its two airlines Vistara and Air India. With this consolidation, Air India will be India’s leading domestic and international carrier with a combined fleet of 218 aircraft, making it the largest international carrier and second-largest domestic carrier in the country. Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Limited. The airline was established in 2013 and is India’s leading full-service carrier with international operations in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. As part of the merger transaction, Singa
India’s free-market oasis, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or GIFT City in Gujarat is ready to face global financial hubs such as Singapore and Dubai. The financial hub occupies 886 acres between Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar, and its biggest city Ahmedabad. It has the presence of companies such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and HSBC Holdings Plc with a combined employee base of 20,000. Being located in the city brings the companies exemption from many rules and taxes that hinder business and trading in the rest of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi began planning t
Bilateral trade for India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to exceed $88 billion this year. This will make the UAE India’s third largest trading partner after the United States and China. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, was recently in India for a two-day official visit to advance relations between the two nations. The UAE Foreign Minister on Tuesday met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to discuss ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two nations. The leaders published a Joint Vision Document, wh
HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh has said that India is not separate from the world and will face some economic slowdown, but will still continue to be among the fastest growing world economies. Addressing The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India 21st World Congress of Accountants on Monday, Parekh said that India’s GDP growth for 2022 may be slightly lower than 7 per cent, but what is important to note is the inherent resilience that is now embedded in its economy. He believed that India can grow from a $3.4 trillion economy to a $7.5 trillion economy within the next five years. Ci
India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are expected to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) on Thursday, November 24, to boost economic ties between the two regions. The two sides are likely to discuss issues related to food security, logistics and regulatory measures. GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. India has already implemented a free trade pact with the UAE in May this year. The talks would be a kind of resumption of FTA talks after two rounds of negotiations held in 2006 and 2008 bet
Led by high-frequency indicators and economic prediction models, an article in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monthly bulletin envisaged that India’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow between 6.1 per cent and 6.3 per cent in the June-September quarter of financial year 2022-23. “If this is realised, India is on course for a growth rate of about 7 per cent in 2022-23,” said the article in the State of the Economy report. The RBI bulletin reasoned that supply responses in the economy are gaining strength. The cumulative procurement of rice during this kharif marketing season has alre
India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.721 billion to $544.715 billion in the week ended November 11, said Reserve Bank of India data released on Friday. The increase marks the fastest pace of growth registered in the country’s foreign exchange reserves since August 2021. The sharp rise was mainly due to an increase of $11.8 billion in the central bank’s foreign currency assets to $482.53 billion. Last week, the rupee strengthened sharply against the dollar, appreciating 2 per cent. The analysts cite this as a reason for the increase in the RBI’s reserves. It was a g