Chidambaram to woo investors in Canada, US

He will also participate in the World Bank/IMF spring meetings in Washington

Finance Minister P Chidambaram will embark on a visit to Canada and the US tomorrow to sell India’s growth story to attract investments. He will later attend the annual Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington.

As India’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) is rising, Chidambaram has been visiting major global financial hubs like Japan, Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore to project India as an investment destination. The CAD in the April-December period was 5.4 per cent of the GDP, against the figure of 4.2 per cent of the GDP in the financial year 2011-12. In the third quarter of the financial year 2012-13, the CAD was as high as 6.7 per cent. India needs capital investment from abroad to finance CAD to avoid draw down from forex reserves.

According to an official statement released today, the finance minister will address the Canadian-Indian Business Council in Toronto on Monday. He will meet Mark Carney, Governor, Bank of Canada and hold a round table meeting with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives in which about 15-20 CEOs of major Canadian companies are likely to participate.

On April 16, Chidambaram will deliver an address on the theme ‘Rise of the East: Implications for the Global Economy’ at Harvard University and also interact with the audience, faculty and students of the university.

The finance minister will also address about 100 leading sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, university endowments, insurance funds and hold one-to-one meetings with the president and CEOs of leading US companies.

On April 18, he will reach New York to participate in the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings. He will also attend the G-20 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ meeting being held on the sidelines of World Bank-IMF meetings, and hold bilateral talks with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.