US looking for more Indian FDI

CHENNAI: The US is eyeing more Foreign Direct Investment from India, which has already put in USD 7 billion in the country, a top American government official said today.

Among others, the US strategic focus is on Asian and European countries including China for attracting investments there, Barry E A Johnson, Executive Director of SelectUSA told reporters here.

Established in June this year, SelectUSA is a government-wide initiative within the US Department of Commerce to encourage, facilitate and accelerate business investments by both domestic and foreign firms in the country.

"Current Indian FDI is USD 7 billion and it is 27th among all the source countries that have invested in the US... (we look forward to attracting) as much as possible," Johnson said when asked if they had set any target for Indian investments.

Besides, Johnson said that considering India's size, potential and pace of development, there was "huge room for improvement."

There was an overall focus on attracting industries and products with high-growth prospects, he said, adding foreign investment would be a "huge plus" to both the US and the countries the investments came from.

Replying to a question on the "Occupy Wall Street" protests and its impact on business, he said the agitation has in "no way shut down business."

Later, interacting with members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, Johnson said the US was inviting and facilitating business investment with no bar on sectors and without any threshold limit.

In order to help investors, the US was doing a cluster mapping of the country, identifying areas of industry, supply chain, research and development centre, and infrastructure facilities, he said.

He said the Federal agency was geographically neutral and did not discriminate against large or small industries. "Our goal is to support everyone," he said.

Minister-Counsellor for Commercial Affairs, US Embassy, Judy Reinke said the consulates acted as industrial investment promotion centres for the US and would offer all assistance to the investors.