Nath asks Japan to re-think India policy

Speaking at the concluding function of the India-Japan business summit organised as part of the World Economic Forum's East Asian Summit 2006 Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said there were many opportunities for Japanese investors in India and they should re-think their India policy.

There were enough windows available and the Japanese corporate should look towards BPO, KPO and EPO operations in India to reduce their cost and enhance their global competitiveness, he said.

Nath said the investment commission had estimated investment opportunities worth $500 billion in the next five years in major economic spheres. Of this, $250 billion investment opportunities existed in infrastructure sectors alone.

To look beyond five years, the power sector provided investment opportunities of $200 billion by 2012 through planned addition of about 100,000 Mw capacity, Nath added.

"If we look into the statistics of trade and investments between both the countries, they do not do justice to the real potential. We need to work towards widening our trade basket," he said, adding, "we should not wait for the finalisation of CECA."

"We appreciate the Japanese assistance for developing the rail freight corridor between Mumbai and Delhi and Delhi and Kolkata as also their contribution in building the metro in Delhi. This is in keeping with the trend of Japanese investments catalysing transformation of Indian industrial sectors," Nath said.