European Bank for Reconstruction & Development seeking to attract Indian investment in Middle East and North Africa: Riccardo Puliti, MD, EBRD

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is exploring investment possibilities with Indian companies in the Middle East and North Africa, its Managing Director, Mr Riccardo Puliti said at an ASSOCHAM event.

We are very interested in India for its knowledge and capability and our visit here is a message to say that we are ready to accompany you and be accompanied by you as well to markets where we can work together very well with a combination of technology, cost and other competitive advantages, said Mr Puliti, head of Energy and Natural Resources, EBRD at an industry interactive session organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

On our side we are very-very open and are really pushing very much on India, so there is a good will to accompany you and stay together and the intention is to work together, he added.

He further informed that the EBRD already co-operates with Indian companies in investments in its countries of operations, however India is not a member of the EBRD and the EBRD does not invest in India.

India is an important source of foreign direct investment in the EBRD's countries of operations as the value of the joint India-EBRD investments stood at about 800 million as of June 2014 and the EBRD accounted in these joint investments with about 630 million and the rest were from Indian companies in private sector specially in Russia, Turkey, Romania, said Mr Puliti.

He said that the EBRD is currently working with about 10-12 Indian companies and are willing to have more Indian companies that can work together in four sectors - financial institutions, infrastructure - transportation, energy and manufacturing and services.

We'd like to engage more with Indian companies with all kinds of financial instruments but if they are willing to invest in our countries of operation, he added.

With a view to attract investment from India's corporate sector, EBRD President, Sir Suma Chakrabarti would visit India to meet government officials in February next year, Ms Nandita Parshad, Director, Power & Energy, EBRD informed at the ASSOCHAM event.

Suma would be here for the development sustainable summit which is a big event planned in February around the climate change agenda and he would be meeting government officials on the subject, said Ms Nandita.

On being asked whether the EBRD is willing to finance Indian SMEs, she said, We finance all sizes of project and companies as we operate in countries of all sizes and we've special product lines for SMEs.

Earlier, in his address at the ASSOCHAM event, Mr Sunil Kanoria, President-elect, ASSOCHAM said that there is a need to convince the Indian Government to become a member country of the EBRD.

Eastern European countries are a potential investment destination for Indian industry, added Mr Kanoria.

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