NRIs to woo foreign investors to Haryana
March 31st, 2011 - 2:37 pm ICT by IANSToronto, March 31 (IANS) Haryana will benefit from Canadian and American investors with the state setting up a high-powered Foreign Investment and NRI Cell to woo foreign investment, says a Toronto-based member of the newly constituted panel.
Former Canada-India Business Council president Kam Rathee, one of the seven NRIs who have been appointed as non-official members to the NRI Cell, said many Canadian companies are interested in investing in Haryana.
“Since Haryana is the second fastest growing state after Gujarat, foreign and NRI investors are eager to participate in the state’s boom. Our panel will facilitate their entry,” Rathee told IANS.
“We will meet for the first time next month and develop a blueprint to make Haryana the top destination for foreign investors,” Rathee said.
He said the state government wants to leverage the expertise and links of NRI members of the Cell to facilitate the entry of foreign investors.
“They want to use our connections abroad for investment purposes. We will check the bona fides of individual and corporate investors and give them our feedback.
“It is not only companies or people from India who cheat. Even lots of foreign companies also dupe. So our job is to tell the Haryana government to stay away from dubious groups. Vetting corporate and NRI investors will be part of our mandate,” said Rathee, who is currently a lawyer with a Toronto-based law firm.
Because of its close proximity to the Indian capital, he said, Haryana is becoming an ideal destination for corporate investors. “Lots of companies have already set up shop in the state, and our panel will convince others to come to the state.”
The areas in which Haryana is seeking foreign investments include automobiles, agro-foods, education, clean energy, manufacturing and infrastructure, he said.
The state chief minister will head an advisory committee of the ‘Foreign Investment and NRI Cell’ which includes Rathee and six other NRI members from different countries.
“Since NRI members on the panel come from different countries, they will get investment and expertise from different areas. Canada is the world leader in clean energy and agro-foods and it will be my job to convince Canadian companies to go to Haryana,” Rathee said.
He said the panel will meet four times a year to take stock of foreign investment coming into the state.
(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)
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