US chieftains meet Amit Mitra to discuss investment opportunities in Bengal

KOLKATA: Senior executives of various top American corporations such as General Motors, Coca-Cola, Boeing, Cognizant, Caterpillar, GE, IBM, Lockheed Martin and United Technologies met West Bengal Finance and Industry Minister Amit Mitra in the city on Tuesday to discuss investment opportunities in the state. The delegation, under the aegis of the American Chamber of Commerce in India (Amcham), was led by Lowell Paddock, president and MD of General Motors India.

Mitra briefed the US companies on FDI in the state so far and the investment opportunities available in various sectors. Paddock told reporters on the sidelines of an Amcham session that the meeting with the government was extremely fruitful.

"We now need to communicate to the rest of the world about the potential of the state and the region." Amcham India Executive Director Ajay P Singha said that since over 70 per cent of FDI flows in India was concentrated in six states — Maharashtra , Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh — the American companies would like to diversify in the East.

While addressing Amcham members, Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of History at Harvard University, said the work culture has completely changed in West Bengal and there is immense potential after 34 years of stagnancy. The chamber also held its national executive board meeting in the city on Tuesday.