Cash-rich US companies eyeing India for investment: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: US President Barack Obama's visit has helped forge a new commercial relationship and India appears high on the agenda of American companies flush with funds looking for investment opportunities, finance minister Arun Jaitely has said.

The finance minister also said the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos demonstrated that investors were looking at India with greater enthusiasm and the loud and clear message from the meet was that India cannot allow obstructionism or complacency to squander this opportunity.

"India's Prime Minister was being described as a strong, decisive and a pro-reform leader. The four important ordinances relating to land, insurance, coal and mining have demonstrated India's determination towards reforms," the Jaitley wrote in an article.

"Government leaders, policy makers, heads of major corporations were engaging with India. Our own industrialists were attending the conferences with a renewed sense of confidence with their heads held high," he said.

India had the second largest contingent after the United States at Davos. Investor perception about India has reversed dramatically after years of stagnation.

But he said the optimism was, however, tempered with caution. "Will India be able to deliver what it has promised? Will all these ordinances translate into law? Will the obstructionists be able to derail India's march? Many questions centered around this scepticism," he said.

He said the conclave of Indian and American CEOs during President Obama's visit exhibited a strong confidence about India.

"The desire of American businesses to invest in India was great. Their queries related essentially to the ease of doing business in India," he said.

The finance minister said both internal and external factors favour India. Decline in global crude oil prices have helped and states are competing with each other for higher growth. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis were aggressively marketing their their states for investment in Davos.

"India needs more resources. Our domestic resources are not adequate. The cost of our capital is high. The world is looking to invest," the finance minister said.

"There are not too many options which are more attractive than India. Whereas most competing economies are facing serious challenges, India is promising to accelerate its growth. Hope has revisited us," he said.