Nath asks Gulf banks to register as FIIs in India

Mumbai: India has asked member countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) to register their banks in India as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to enable them to trade in equity markets in the country.

"FIIs from Gulf countries should actively look at investing in the Indian stock markets," commerce minister Kamal Nath said during the valedictory function of the 3rd India-Gulf Cooperation Council Industrial Forum.

Registering as FIIs here would help Gulf banks deliver benefits from India''s booming stock markets to their high networth clients, he said.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has jumped three-fold from $5.5 billion in 2005-06 to $15.7 billion in 2006-07, the minister pointed out.

"Buoyed by this growth, this year we have set ourselves a target of $30 billion in FDI."

The GCC comprises of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

India and GCC have identified investment opportunities in infrastructure and
agro-processing industry in India and the Gulf countries.

At the end of a two-day conferece, both India and GCC also agreed to speed up talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) between them.

"There is no problem from the Indian side to expedite the FTA process," Ajay Dua, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion said.