South Asia presenting investment opportunities: diplomat

INDIA’S high commissioner to the UK has called on British businesses to make good of the opportunities south Asian economies are presenting.

Vikram Doraiswami said India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal were moving forward through regional integration to drive growth which the UK “is poised to benefit from”.

“It’s well being said that in the context of business, follow the money. The money trail today… is very much in Asia, in particular around South Asia,” he said at the Asian Business Awards event in London on Wednesday (22).

As the UK was looking for new partnerships to anchor future growth, “I believe there is no better destination for British Indian businesses or British Asian businesses than in the subcontinent, more particularly in India,” the senior diplomat said.

Referring to India’s success in fintech and manufacturing, he said, “There is a niche and opportunity for every business to succeed in India”.

He said the trade between India and the UK which currently stood at £37 billion was “poised for a significant increase” once the free trade negotiations between the two countries were brought to “finality”.

Doraiswami also credited British Asian businesses for strengthening UK-India relations.

“We have long spoken of our diaspora being part of a living bridge. But… a living bridge is sustained not just by people, but by the activities that they undertake, by the businesses they do, and by the value they bring to both countries. If we look at that part of the picture, I think our relationship today… is the strongest ever historically.”

There were “great” stories of Asian businesses that “have known how best to invest both with the heart and with the head,” he said, citing the example of an Asian businessman who correctly bet on India to win the 1983 Cricket World Cup despite odds heavily stacked against the team.