Doha Bank Group CEO R Seetharaman
GCC – India bilateral trade could exceed $130bn by 2014, Doha Bank Group CEO R Seetharaman has said in a note.
The bilateral trade between India and the GCC countries exceeded $80bn in nine months up to December 2010, Seetharaman said in the context of the 2nd World Tamil Conference in Dubai this week.
India is in talks with members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) to conclude a free trade agreement. A framework agreement for the FTA has already been signed, he said.
The GCC countries - Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have identified various sectors such as petroleum oil and energy, gas and fertilisers, information technology, higher education, civil aviation and agriculture for potential co-operation with India.
The FTA will remove restrictive duties and push down tariffs on goods being traded. This will provide Indian pharmaceutical and chemical industry to export their products to the Gulf region. India is the third country apart from Japan and the United States to have become a dialogue partner of the GCC.
There are several potential sectors for investments by Indian entrepreneurs, which include information technology, software development, telecommunications, education, training and healthcare services, tourism and hotel industry, banking and financial services, oil, gas and petrochemicals, electricity, housing, road and rail network.
GCC investment in India has significantly increased in the last two years and is now estimated at more than $125bn, Seetharaman said.
The sectors that have attracted these investments are the infrastructure sector with cumulated investment of $112bn, the special economic zones with investment of $12bn, agricultural and food processing $900mn, real estate $700mn and oil and gas $500mn.
On Qatar – India bilateral trade, Seetharaman said it could have exceeded $5bn in March 2011. The bilateral trade between the two countries had seen a growth between 2006 and 2010.
Qatari exports to India had steadily increased in the last four years, reflecting rising demand for Qatar’s hydrocarbon in India.
Qatar exports to India include petrochemicals, LNG, fertilisers, sulphur and iron pyrites. India is also a major buyer of Qatar’s ethylene, propylene, ammonia, urea and polyethylene.
Qatar’s imports from India include accessories, manmade yarn, fabrics, cotton yarn, transport equipment, machinery and instruments, metals and minerals.
India has sought to purchase 15mn tonnes of liquefied natural gas from Qatar in addition to the 7.5mn tonnes that it already imports from Qatar.
India also purchased 4mn tonnes of oil from Qatar in 2010. India will be one of the largest gas markets for Qatar apart from China.
Co-operation in power sector between India and Qatar is under deliberation.
An agreement has been signed by India and of Qatar to avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal evasion with respect to income tax.
India has a large agricultural sector and is therefore a huge market for fertilisers. Qatar is a major producer of fertilisers and hence there is ample business opportunity for both sides in the fertiliser sector, he said.
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