India amongst top investment destinations: WTCA CEO

The government's initiatives like 'Make in India' and 'Smart Cities' have strengthened India's economy which has now become one of the top investment destinations, the chief of World Trade Center Association (WTCA) said on Thursday.

"The current government has taken a slew of initiatives to propel the economic growth of the country. These initiatives have put India amongst top investment destination across the globe," Scott Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer of the WTCA, said here in a media interaction.

There are over 300 World Trade Centres (WTC) in 90 countries across the globe, and 21 licenses in India.

"We are very bullish on the expansion in this market. The economy is very strong," Ferguson said.

"The government has introduced a number of initiatives, from corporate corridors to smart cities, and we see the WTC licenses being very obvious strong business tool platform for those cities. We are very excited about the growth that we see in India."

Ferguson said that cities are becoming the new engines of growth for countries around the globe and that WTC acts as a tool in facilitating the cities with an international connection.

"Cities are becoming the new engines of growth for countries around the globe. And India, in particular, where there are a number of initiatives that are coming from the national government that target cities, like smart cities, that's perfect for us," Ferguson said.

"As these cities emerge and look for economic development tools, in our view the WTC product is the exact tool they need because it gives them a presence in the city itself. It's a rallying occasion for business and innovators, but it also provides that city with an international connection."

At present, there are operational WTCs in Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Kochi. The Noida WTC facility, which is spread across 42 acres, is the largest in the world.

"We are in a process right now of developing a longer term strategic plan for near 2030, but I can tell you that we do have our expectations to grow dramatically in the Indian market," Ferguson added.

--IANS

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