India third top future market for Scotland

KOLKATA: India has been ranked as the third top future market after the US and China by Scottish businesses looking to expand overseas.

"India is the third top future market for us," Scottish Development International India country director Rooma Kumar Bussi said here today.

"Indian investment in Scotland has also created 5000 jobs with investment of over USD 1 billion in the last five years," she said.

She said that SDI with offices at Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai was working closely with chambers and companies in India creating a base in Scotland to boost investments and job creation.

At the moment, China was ranked 17th in bilateral trade and India 24th, making it the second in Asia after the Chinese market.

"We have recorded 15 per cent growth in bilateral trade between Indian and Scotland over the last two years despite global economic slowdown," Bussi said during a visit here to explore business collaborations in West Bengal.

She said there were tremendous opportunities for Indian companies in Scotland which offered 20-30 per cent lower operating costs than London and South England.

On proposed hike in visa fees to Euro 3000 for UK with India seen as high risk category, Bussi said its implementation was still unclear and could not be commented on.