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India Canada Biz Digest
(Delivering news impacting India-Canada economic relations)
Compiled by the High Commission of India, Ottawa
May 2021
Issue 136
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India attracted highest ever total FDI inflow of US$ 81.72 billion
during 2020-21, 10% more than the last financial year
Measures taken by the Government of India on the fronts of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business have resulted in increased FDI inflows into the country. The following trends in India’s Foreign Direct Investment are an endorsement of its status as a preferred investment destination amongst global investors:
- India has attracted highest ever total FDI inflow of US$ 81.72 billion during the financial year 2020-21 and it is 10% higher as compared to the last financial year 2019-20 (US$ 74.39 billion).
- FDI equity inflow grew by 19% in the F.Y. 2020-21 (US$ 59.64 billion) compared to the previous year F.Y. 2019-20 (US$ 49.98 billion).
- In terms of top investor countries, ‘Singapore’ is at the apex with 29%, followed by the U.S.A (23%) and Mauritius (9%) for the F.Y. 2020-21.
- ‘Computer Software & Hardware’ has emerged as the top sector during F.Y. 2020-21 with around 44% share of the total FDI Equity inflow followed by Construction (Infrastructure) Activities (13%) and Services Sector (8%) respectively.
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Government of India notifies final rules for 74% FDI in insurance sector
Indian Parliament on 22 March 2021 passed the Insurance Amendment Bill 2021 to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 74% from 49%. The Finance Ministry on 20 May 2021 formally notified the amendment to the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015 and clarified on the final rules for increasing the foreign direct investment limit. “Total Foreign Investment" in an Indian Insurance Company, shall mean the sum total of direct and indirect foreign investment by Foreign Investors in such company, calculated in such manner as is specified in regulations made by the authority with regard to registration of Indian Insurance Companies," according to Gazzette.
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External Affairs Minister of India holds meeting with the
Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada, discusses bilateral ties
On 5 May 2021, External Affairs Minister of India (EAM) S.Jaishankar held a virtual meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada Marc Garneau on the sidelines of the G7 summit and discussed challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and various aspects of the bilateral relationship.
EAM was in the UK at the invitation of UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab for the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting. EAM was one of the guest ministers along with his counterparts from Australia, South Korea and South Africa, as well as the chair of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), as part of Britain's Indo-Pacific strategy to unite the world's major democracies.
"Useful virtual meeting with FM @MarcGarneau of Canada on G7 sidelines. Discussed our respective Covid challenges. Talked about various aspects of our bilateral relationship," EAM tweeted.
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Make in India Conference on Travel, Tourism,
Hospitality, Construction & Wellness
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The High Commission of India, Ottawa in association with Impact Media and Events Corporation (IMEC) hosted a virtual business conference titled “Make in India Conference on Travel, Tourism, Hospitality, Construction & Wellness” on 25 March 2020. The objective of the conference was to disseminate knowledge for prospective investors and connect them with Make in India initiative boosting investment initiatives and visibility of opportunities in India in addition to fostering networks with local industry associations and trade chambers. High Commissioner H.E. Ajay Bisaria made a panel address on the importance of India to Canada in terms of strategic partnership in areas of trade, investment, travel/tourism, COVID vaccine supply and others. A total of eight panelists addressed the conference on bilateral tourism promotion and investment opportunities. The event was moderated by Mr. Vipul Jani, Director, IMEC. The event was co-sponsored by the High Commission of India, Ottawa through the ‘Make in India’ initiative budget allocated to the mission.
The session featured the following panel speakers:
- H.E Ajay Bisaria, High Commissioner of India to Canada
- Hon. Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Tourism, Sport and Culture Industries, Govt of Ontario
- Ms. Astha Tyagi, AVP, Invest India
- Mr. Senthur Kumaran, Assistant Director, India Tourism
- Mr. Shabeg Singh, Director, Advance India Projects Ltd
- Mr. Vivek Khanna, Director, Tourcan Vacations
- Mr. Vijay Thomas, President, ICCC
- Mr. Lester Fernandes, Head, Corporate and Commercial Banking, ICICI Bank Canada
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High Commissioner's engagement with major stakeholders in the
India-Canada commercial corridor
High Commissioner (HC) Ajay Bisaria had a virtual meeting on March 4, 2021 with Mr. Max Koeune, President and CEO of McCain Foods Ltd. On the same day, HC attended a webinar on PLI -Production Linked Incentives (announced in national budget) by DPIIT. On March 11, 2021 HC attended CIM's briefing meeting followed by DVC between Hon'ble Mary Ng (Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, Government of Canada) and Hon’ble Piyush Goyal (Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India). On March 23, 2021, HC held a discussion with Mr. Paul Thoppil, Assistant Deputy Minister, Asia-Pacific at Global Affairs. Mr. Thoppil briefed the mission on the trials of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. On March 26, 2021, HC had a virtual meeting with Mr. Robert Howald, Acting President & CEO, Canada Lands Company. They discussed real-estate market, deeper India-Canada relations and other commercial concerns. On March 31, 202, HC had a virtual conversation with Mr. Sandeep Goel, CEO, ICICI Bank Canada. A roadmap for high-impact economic events in the India-Canada economic corridor was discussed. On 6 April 2021, HC met Ian McKay, CEO, Invest in Canada. They discussed investment opportunities available in India and Canada. On 7 April 2021, HC met Mr. Praveen Jain, President & CEO, Sparq Systems and discussed investment opportunities in India. On 15 April 2021, HC delivered keynote address for a webinar on Agricultural Reforms organized by Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC). Premier Scott Moe also addressed the audience. On 22 April 2021, HC interacted with Hon'ble Ted Falk on the economy of southern Manitoba and Credit Unions in Canada. On 5 May 2021, HC had a virtual meeting with Mr. Conrad Sauvé, President & CEO, Canadian Red Cross & Mr. Jean-Philippe Tizi, Chief of Canadian Operations. They discussed bilateral cooperation on India's fight towards Covid-19 action relief. On 10 May 2021, HC held a virtual discussion with Deputy Premier of Manitoba Hon. Kelvin Goertzen. On the same day, HC had a virtual meeting with Mr. Bob Saroya, Conservative MP from Markham-Unionville. They discussed potential trade & investment oppurtunities in the India-Ontario commercial corridor. On 11 May 2021, HC held virtual discussion with Ms Alanna Boyd, Vice President and Mr. Victor Gomez, Asstt. Vice President, Sun Life Financial. On 20 May 2021, HC delivered a keynote address at the Canada India Healthcare Summit 2021, organised by Canada India Foundation. On 26 May 2021, HC participated in a virtual panel discussion organised by Startup Reseau. Ideas for sustained support to new startups in the India-Canada corridor were discussed.
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Canada's CPPIB buying extra stake in IndInfravit Trust from Sadbhav Infra,
L&T IDPL
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) announced the acquisition of an additional 15.9% stake in IndInfravit Trust in India through two transactions, bringing its total holding in the infrastructure investment trust or InvIT to 43.8%. The combined investment amount from the two transactions is $136.2 million. In one deal, CPPIB has acquired 7% stake from Sadbhav Infrastructure Project and through the other it will acquire 8.9% from L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd (L&T IDPL), the Canadian pension fund said.
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Embassy, CDPQ set up India platform
for office parks
Real estate developer Embassy Group and Ivanhoé Cambridge, the realty arm of Canada pension fund CDPQ, have launched a platform focused on office parks in India, the companies said in a statement. It has a capacity of $500 million with Ivanhoé and Embassy Group investing in an 80:20 ratio. Embassy Group will lead real estate development, project management, leasing and operations. The platform will build office parks from the ground up as well as buy partially developed projects in key Indian urban centres. It will initially focus on southern Indian markets of Bengaluru and Chennai.
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Fairfax India prepares listing of Anchorage on Indian stock exchanges
Fairfax India Holdings Corp, the publicly listed private equity-style investment platform of Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, is preparing to list Anchorage Infrastructure Investment Holdings Ltd on the Indian stock exchanges, according to a filing. Anchorage was set up in 2019 as a wholly owned unit of Fairfax India Holdings to become its flagship company to invest in India’s airport sector and for airport privatization projects. The listing of Anchorage will allow Fairfax to monetise its five-year investment in Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which operates the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru city.
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RMZ strikes joint venture with CPPIB for office projects in Hyderabad, Chennai
Bengaluru-based developer RMZ Corp has struck a joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for office projects in Chennai and Hyderabad, the companies said in a statement. CPPIB will put in $210 million for the development of 10.4 million square feet; 7.5 million sq ft is under development while the rest will commence soon. The three projects under development are RMZ Nexity (Hyderabad), RMZ Spire (Hyderabad) and RMZ One Paramount (Chennai). Manoj Menda, Corporate Chairman of RMZ, said that the value of the assets under the partnership, once developed, is estimated to be over $1.5 billion.
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India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to open new Montreal hub, hire 500 employees in the next 3 years
India's Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, is expanding its presence in Montreal by opening a new IT delivery center in the city, with plans to hire over 100 new employees immediately, and more than 500 in the next three years. “We are growing strongly by partnering with some of Canada’s largest and most dynamic corporations in their digital transformation initiatives, helping them harness new technologies to power their innovation. Our new center in Montreal is part of the investments we are making to support this growth,” said Soumen Roy, Country Head, TCS Canada.
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Canada’s 2021 Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) Model
The Government of Canada has updated its model Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). On 13 May 2021, Mary Ng, Canadian Minister for International Trade released an updated FIPA model text. While releasing the document, the Minister remarked that Government of Canada is committed to ensuring the protection of Canadian business interests in investing abroad including through robust and modernised FIPAs.
The new modernized and inclusive model FIPA text will serve as the basis for Canada’s future FIPA negotiations, and represents the first comprehensive revision since 2003.
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Amazon launches $250 million venture fund for Indian startups, entrepreneurs
E-commerce giant Amazon India has launched $250 million Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund (the venture fund) to invest in startups and entrepreneurs focusing on technology innovations in SMB (small and medium business) digitization, agriculture and healthcare. The venture fund will invest in technology-led startups that are passionate about unlocking the possibilities of a digital India. The fund would drive technology-led innovation in agriculture to improve farmer productivity and enable them to bring the best of India’s farms to consumers.
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Facebook ties up with CleanMax to go 100% renewable in India
Facebook and CleanMax announced a partnership to support renewable power from wind and solar facilities in India. "We're excited to announce this important step that is helping us support our operations in the region, including our offices in India, with 100 per cent renewable energy," Urvi Parekh, Head of renewable energy at Facebook said in a statement. Under the agreement, Facebook and CleanMax will assemble a portfolio of wind and solar projects supplying renewable power into India's electrical grid. The first project to be brought online in the agreement is a 32MW wind project located in Karnataka, India.
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U.K's CDC Group announces investment into India's Fourth Partner Energy
CDC Group, the UK's development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, announced nearly $35 million investment into Fourth Partner Energy, India’s leading solar energy company for commercial and industrial businesses. The capital from CDC Group will be in the form of non-convertible debentures and Fourth Partner Energy will deploy this mezzanine capital towards growing its renewable solutions platform across India and South Asia. This also marks CDC’s foray into India’s commercial & industrial solar segment and Fourth Partner Energy’s first major round of fund-raising in 2021.
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Hyatt announces significant brand expansion plans in India
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced plans to grow its brand footprint in India - one of Hyatt’s top three growth markets globally - by more than 70% by 2023. With over 20 executed managed and franchised agreements, Hyatt will add more than 3,600 keys to its existing portfolio of 32 Hyatt-branded hotels across eight distinct brands in the country, including the Andaz, Alila, Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, and Hyatt Place brands. This ambitious growth in India is fueled by an ever-increasing demand from guests, World of Hyatt members, customers, and owners to offer unique and differentiated hotel experiences.
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India's Wipro to acquire Australian cybersecurity provider Ampion
for $117 million
India's Wipro announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Ampion, an Australia-based provider of cyber security, devops and quality engineering services. According to reports, Wipro will acquire Ampion for $117 million. Ampion was formed through the merger of IT services providers Revolution IT and Shelde. Revolution IT was an IT services company in Australia, founded in 2004, and Shelde was a digital IT security company also founded in Australia, in 2010. The merged entity, Ampion is headquartered in Melbourne, with offices in Sydney, Brisbane, and a zone 3 facility in Canberra.
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India, EU to resume free trade pact talks after 8 years
After eight years, India and the European Union agreed to resume talks for a comprehensive trade agreement. The two sides also agreed to begin negotiations for a standalone investment protection pact, the External Affairs Ministry, India said on 8 May 2021.
The developments happened at the virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the heads of state or government of all the 27-member states of the bloc. Officials said negotiations on both the trade and investment agreements will be pursued parallelly to achieve an early conclusion.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi and the other leaders exchanged views on the pandemic and healthcare cooperation.
A joint statement said: “We committed to work together to better prepare for and respond to global health emergencies. We agreed to cooperate on resilient medical supply chains, vaccines and the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), and on the application of international good manufacturing standards to ensure high quality and safety of products.”
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India implements a robust national strategy on AI
India is in the process of implementing a robust National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI), disclosed Abhishek Singh, President & CEO, National e-Governance Division, DIC, Meity, at a CII conference on AI on 18 Mar 2021.
“AI has become part of our life and it can build solutions at a scale that society and industry face. Also, AI is going to become a core component in our trillion-dollar digital economy strategy where almost US$500 billion will come directly from AI and other related technologies,” Singh pointed out.
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Unpacking India's brave fight against COVID-19
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Canada thanks India for sending 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines
Canada thanked India for sending coronavirus vaccines, of which 500,000 doses reached Canada on 4 March 2021, a week after the AstraZeneca vaccine was approved. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in February 2021, spoke to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and assured that India will do its best to support Canada's COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
Expressing his appreciation, the Canadian Prime Minister said that if the world managed to conquer COVID-19, "it would be significantly because of India's tremendous pharmaceutical capacity, and Prime Minister Modi's leadership in sharing this capacity with the world”. Prime Minister Modi thanked PM Trudeau for his sentiments.
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External Affairs Minister of India and Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada
discuss India Covid-19 situation
On 27 April 2021, External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar and Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada Marc Garneau connected over a call to discuss mutual support and cooperation in fighting the COVID19 crisis, and working together to meet the challenge of overcoming the critical global threat.
Minister Garneau conveyed Canada’s solidarity with the people of India as the country puts up a steady fight against the deadly second wave of Covid-19. Canada also informed India that it is exploring all options to support India’s urgent needs in battling the pandemic.
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Canada announces funding support in response to COVID-19 in India
On 27 April 2021, Ms. Karina Gould, Minister of International Development of Canada, announced that Canada is providing $10 million in funding for humanitarian assistance to the Canadian Red Cross to support the Indian Red Cross Society’s response to the Covid-19 situation unfolding in India.
Canada’s contribution will support the procurement of essential supplies and medicines, including oxygen cylinders for clinics and ambulances.
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India, UK decide to enhance partnership on COVID-19 vaccines
On 4 May 2021, India and the UK agreed to "expand and enhance" their existing partnership on vaccines, besides vowing to work together to reform and strengthen the World Health Organization (WHO) and the global health security architecture to strengthen pandemic resilience.
"They agreed to expand and enhance the existing UK-India vaccines partnership, highlighting the successful collaboration between the Oxford University, AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India (SII) on an effective COVID-19 vaccine that is 'developed in UK', 'Made in India' and 'distributed globally'," a joint statement said.
It said the two leaders emphasised that the international community should "learn lessons" and agreed to work together to reform and strengthen the WHO and the global health security architecture to strengthen pandemic resilience.
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DRDO develops antibody detection kit for Covid-19
Days after the launch of its 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug for adjunct therapy for Covid-19, the Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed a new antibody detection-based kit, that can give the result in 75 minutes and will cost $1.03, a ccording to a statement issued on 21 May 2021.
The DRDO’s Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) laboratory has developed the DIPCOVAN kit, which can “detect spike as well as nucleocapsid (S&N) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 virus with a high sensitivity of 97 per cent and specificity of 99 per cent”, the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
It is “intended for qualitative detection of IgG antibodies in human serum or plasma, targeting SARS-CoV-2 related antigens” and offers a “significantly faster turn-around time, as it requires just 75 minutes to conduct the test without any cross reactivity with other diseases,” the ministry added.
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Why the world is standing with India
As India fights a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, one aspect of the crisis stands out as a silver lining: the world is responding with unparalleled solidarity. Valuable consignments of urgently-required medical equipment and drugs have flown in via land, air and water from dozens of countries and multiple continents. Foreign supplies have begun to reach healthcare facilities overwhelmed by the sudden surge in covid cases and are making a difference in saving lives.
A lot of the incoming products are purchases that India sourced and is paying for, rather than donations in the form of ‘aid’. As India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar aptly told journalists, “What you describe as aid, we call friendship."
The international goodwill that is overflowing today has also been earned by India through its far-sighted foreign policy of stepping up the provision of global public goods. World leaders have emphasized they are giving back to India after receiving so much from it when their countries were in trouble as the pandemic was hammering them. No less than 150 countries have been beneficiaries of Indian vaccines, medical gear and pharmaceuticals since covid spread and plunged the world into catastrophe.
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Please visit the new business website of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
www.indbiz.gov.in
The website aims to provide critical and relevant information on major economic indicators, central and state government policy updates as well as the latest business news and trade data. It aims to be a one-stop source of business information on India for readers, foreign enterprises and businesses, Indian business houses looking to expand their global footprint and State Governments for choosing their partners abroad for investment, technology cooperation and state/city partnerships and to encourage trade and tourism.
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For latest India monthly economic reports :
Released by Department of Economic Affairs (Ministry of Finance, India)
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For all the relevant updates and information regarding International Trade Events/Business Seminars in India
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