93 foreign firms marked as potential investors

As many as 93 foreign companies across various sectors have been identified as potential investors by the Investment Commission.

These include Norsk Hydro, Singapore Power, select Japanese and Korean companies for road development projects, Deutsche Telecom, China Telecom, SK Telecom, BT, NEC and Toshiba, among others.

Then there are big companies like Alcan, RusAl, Burlington, Petronas, Sumitomo, Hanwa, Degussa, Renault, Scania and EADS. For the growing tourism and hotels sector, the commission is targeting firms like CDL, Fairmont, HPL, Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula Starwood Capital.

These investors were identified as part of a target-specific approach by the commission, that has also identified key issues and deterrents faced by companies in finalising their India plans. In fact, the commission will shortly visit Japan to talk with select companies for investing in the roads sector.

Bouygues of France and some Korean companies are also being targeted to take part in this growing sector.

A point that emerges from the Investment Commission's report is that many investors in the ports sector - Evergreen, Hutchison Whampoa, P&O - have problems with the price controls by the tariff authority on major ports.

The lack of transparency and inconsistency in tender conditions and project execution have stumped companies like BAA, Changi and Unique Zurich in their plans for the aviation and airport infrastructure business. In the space of telecom, the issues raised include the lack of clarity on policy, incumbent dominance and security-related conditions.

Among the resource-based sectors, the commission feels that companies like AMCI, Consol Energy, RAG and Xstrata will come to the country if private investment for captive consumption is allowed.

In the booming real estate sector, prospective investors like Hines and Keppel Land have said that process difficulties, delays in registering properties and unethical practices are major deterrents.