JBIC survey ranks India as No 1 investment destination

A survey by Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) among 1,000 companies for Japanese manufacturing sector in July 2014, has ranked India as the No 1 destination for future investments, followed by Indonesia (ranked No.2) and China (ranked No.3).

In October 2014, the number of Japanese companies in India had reached 1,209, which is 13 per cent higher over the same period last year with a CAGR of 13.67 per cent (for the last five years, ie, from 2010 to 2014).

Some Japanese companies are seriously contemplating their future investment plans in India amounting to about Rs75,000 crore (approx $12 billion) in next 2-3 years.

During the period June 2014 to September 2014, FDI inflow from Japan to India amounted to $618 million, against $273 million during the corresponding period in 2013. In October 2014 alone, FDI inflow from Japan amounted to $103.14 million.

The government has set up Japan Plus, a special management team, to facilitate Japanese investors. The team is actively interacting with Japanese companies and handholding them through various approval processes, as and when required. Also, the issues related to the state government of Rajasthan concerning Sojitz, working for Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), has been resolved.

One of the mandates of Japan Plus is to help develop Japanese Integrated Industrial Parks. For this, discussions are going on with Japanese companies and the state governments concerned.