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The UAE is looking to potentially invest as much as $50 billion in India, with provisional pledges to be announced early next year, according to a news report.
Deals being discussed include stakes in key Indian infrastructure projects and state-owned assets, with some of the investments possibly involving UAE sovereign wealth funds such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Co. and ADQ, Bloomberg reported, citing highly placed sources who could not be named.
The news report further stated the announcements are expected to be made before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to seek a third term in federal elections due next year.
India is the UAE’s second largest trade partner with bilateral trade between the two countries hitting $84.5 billion in the year from April 2022 to March 2023, according to official data. The two countries also signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) that has further bolstered trade ties between the two countries.
The UAE also emerged as the fourth largest investor in India during 2022-23, with foreign direct investment (FDI) from the Arab world’s second-largest economy to the South Asian country jumping to $3.35 billion from $1.03 billion in 2021-22, according to official data.
Modi has made five trips to the UAE since taking office, with his most recent visit to the UAE in July of this year, which included meetings with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
The countries have been seeking to bolster ties over the past decade and aim to increase non-oil bilateral trade to $100 billion.
Entities overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi, have held early-stage talks on investing billions of dollars in India, Bloomberg reported citing an unnamed source. Sheikh Tahnoon is also chairman of International Holding Co., which increased its stake in India’s Adani Enterprises Ltd to above 5% in October after selling out of two Adani Group companies.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Daniel Luiz)
