38 pc British firms made new investments in India in 2017: Report

Close to two fifths (38 per cent) of British companies made new investments in India in 2017 and created 51,188 new private sector jobs from 2016 to 2018 -- a 14 per cent rise over the previous 18 months, according to a report released Tuesday.

The 'Sterling Assets: Britain Meets India' report revealed that the UK has strengthened its investments in India to become the largest single western investor, while British companies have created over 422,000 jobs in India since the turn of the century.

Between 2000 and 2018, total FDI which flowed into India from all channels from the UK is estimated at USD 50.57 billion. Of this, the UK directly invested USD 26.09 billion in India -- increasing its investment by USD 847 million between 2017 and 2018 -- representing 7 per cent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, a release said.

"Close to two fifths (38 per cent) of British companies made new investments in India in 2017. The UK is the fourth largest investor in India and remains the largest investor into India outside of South East Asia and Africa," it said.

Whilst it is no longer the largest G20 investor in India -- Japan narrowly overtook the UK -- it is substantially ahead of Germany and France, who only contribute 3 per cent and 2 per cent in FDI respectively.

The UK created 51,188 new private sector jobs from 2016 to 2018 -- a 14 per cent rise on the previous 18 months. British companies created 422,524 jobs in India since 2000.

However, around 6 per cent of all employees in British businesses in India are women, with 5 per cent of managers in these firms being female.

"UK companies create jobs in India -- over fifty-thousand in the last eighteen months. They Make in India, with over a third of the 400-plus companies here operating in the manufacturing sector. They bring new technologies to India, with 62% of surveyed companies bringing new technologies to market here," Crispin Simon, Deputy British High Commissioner for Western India said.

Over half of British firms in India (56 per cent) are in the services sector, and over a third (36 per cent) are in the manufacturing sector. The chemicals sector has received the lion's share of British investment in India since 2000 at USD 12 billion, followed by drugs and pharmaceuticals at USD 8.8 billion and services at USD 7 billion.

Between August 2017 and August 2018, over two-thirds of British investment (67 per cent) went to south India, particularly the states of Karnataka (38 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (29 per cent). The state of Maharashtra, with the city of Mumbai, attracted the largest share of British investment -- USD 8.76 billion -- between 2000 and 2018.