Gulf: take oil, open financial sector
Gulf: take oil, open financial sector
ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU
October 12, 2006
New Delhi, October 11: The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has asked India to push through financial sector reforms and in return offered its huge oil and gas reserves to meet the country’s energy needs. The six GCC countries - UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - were keen to invest long-term funds in the infrastructure sector.
At a seminar in the capital late Monday evening, Qatar-based Doha Bank deputy CEO R Seetharaman, who represented the GCC, said India should leverage its human capital in IT, pharmaceuticals and other sectors to make further inroads in these nations.
According to him, non-oil trade between India and the GCC could see an exponential growth from the meagre $16 billion in 2005 to $120-125 billion over the next five years. Opening up the pension fund business would help India attract long-term funds for the infrastructure sector.
The six Gulf countries account for 45 per cent of the world’s oil reserves and 24 per cent of gas reserves. India, which imports around 70 per cent of its oil requirements, is also desperately looking for funds of up to a whopping $320 billion over the next five to seven years to help bankroll improvements in its physical infrastructure.
India and the GCC are also negotiating a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement that would cover trade, investment and services.
