UAE looking at investing USD 50 billion in India

New Delhi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is looking at investing as much as $50 billion in India as part of its economic diversification plans to go beyond oil, a report said.

Provisional pledges from the UAE could be announced early next year, the report said citing people familiar with the matter who were not named as the information is not public, Bloomberg reported.

The new investments are expected to follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in July when he will be attending the COP28 conference to fight climate change.

The UAE is looking at investments in India’s infrastructure sector including ports, power and highways which offer huge opportunities. 

The UAE’s DP World has already invested in the Indian ports sector and has been expanding its presence in the country.  

The recently announced an investment of $510 million to develop and operate a new mega-container terminal in Gujarat as part of the concession agreement signed with the Deendayal Port Authority earlier this year.

Some of the new investments could involve sovereign wealth funds such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala Investment Co.

Both investments and trade have accelerated after the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between India and the UAE, which came into effect in May last year.

In 2022-23, foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UAE to India shot up to $3.35 billion which was a three-fold jump from $1.03 billion in 2021-22. 

The UAE has now emerged as India’s fourth-largest investor.

India has also signed an MoU with the Education and Knowledge Department of Abu Dhabi for setting up IIT Delhi campus there as part of the growing ties with the UAE.

The free trade agreement (CEPA) eliminated or reduced tariffs on more than 80 per cent of product lines, created new platforms for SME collaboration and promoted mutual investment flows, particularly into priority sectors. Bilateral trade has surged and India and UAE have started trading in local currencies as well. 

Initial figures indicate that from May 2022 to April 2023, the first 12 months of the CEPA, bilateral non-oil trade reached a value of $50.5 billion, a 5.8 per cent increase on the same period from the previous year.