The United Arab Emirates (UAE), with which India implemented a comprehensive free trade agreement in May last year, has emerged as the fourth largest investor in India during 2022-23, according to government data.
In the last fiscal, foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UAE to India jumped over three-fold to USD 3.35 billion from USD 1.03 billion in 2021-22, the data of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) showed.
The UAE was the fourth largest investor in India in 2022-23 compared to the seventh in 2021-22.
Singapore was the largest investor in India with USD 17.2 billion investment in FY23, followed by Mauritius (USD 6.1 billion) and the US (USD 6 billion).
“The rapidly strengthening of bilateral ties and investment cooperation between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) can be chiefly attributed to the strong bilateral relations between India and UAE, growth in investment commitments from UAE, and the policy reforms to further ease of doing businesses between the two countries,” Rudra Kumar Pandey, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, said.
UAE’s investments in India are mainly in sectors like services, sea transport, power and construction activities.
One of the crucial factors for the increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) from UAE is the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and UAE on February 18, 2022 (effective from May 1, 2022), Pandey added.