According to India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the UK and India have established an infrastructure financing bridge to help plan and carry out large-scale infrastructure projects. To finalize its free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, the two nations have also agreed to hold investment negotiations concurrently with the goods negotiations.
According to Jeremy Hunt, chancellor exchequer of the UK, who spoke to the media alongside Sitharaman during the 12th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue, the Indian government has also informed the UK government of its intentions to consider enabling Indian companies to list on exchanges outside of the country. Currently, Indian companies can’t list directly on foreign markets.
They can, however, list on global exchanges utilizing things like depository receipts. According to Sitharaman, the FTA negotiations should be finished “as soon as possible.” The Niti Aayog and the City of London Corporation have joined together to create the infrastructure financing bridge, which intends to use their combined experience to carry out significant infrastructure projects.
“We are still dedicated to working together, being strategic, and coming up with new ideas to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that both nations will face in the future.” She claimed that the UK is eager to expand its presence in GIFT city. “The increased cooperation between India and the UK in the area of financial services is very encouraging to us.” The UK’s Hunt stated that there is “a huge amount of work we can do together” and that he saw India as Asia’s Silicon Valley and the UK as Europe’s Silicon Valley.
In addition to India’s new Digital Personal Data Protection Act, Sitharaman said there are many opportunities for India and the UK to work together on frameworks for secure and inclusive financial intermediation. This is true, particularly for emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 acknowledges both the necessity to process personal data for legitimate purposes and the rights of individuals to secure their personal information.
On the eve of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak. This was the latter’s first trip to India as PM. The discussions for a free trade agreement have also been examined by both leaders, who expressed optimism that the last-minute concerns might be resolved. We are very happy that India has taken a significant step ahead by indicating that it will investigate listing Indian companies directly on the London Stock Exchange as a global destination, according to Hunt. According to Hunt, the new pension and insurance alliance will increase cross-market investments.
A later joint statement read: “The primary objective of this collaboration is aimed at unlocking infrastructure investment and leveraging the City of London’s expertise in structuring and phasing major infrastructure projects.” Both parties acknowledged, according to the statement, the crucial role that a robust pensions industry plays in providing secure retirement incomes and fostering economic growth through profitable investments, particularly those in green infrastructure.
