India plans investment treaty with Qatar during PM Narendra Modi ’s visit

NEW DELHI: India is planning to put in place an investment treaty with Qatar, eyeing to source the much-needed funds for its infrastructure sector during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Doha trip en route to the US in June first week. A high-level team from India is expected to visit this natural gas-rich country this week to discuss the possible investment treaty, hinted people familiar with the development. Delhi is eyeing funds from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

According to informed sources, assets managed by QIA have risen to $329 billion, or 183.4% of GDP, in 2015 from $243.5 billion, or 120.6% of GDP, in 2013. This is 5.5 times the estimated total government debt for 2015 at $60 billion. Qatar has already invested more than $200 billion abroad. However, low prices of hydrocarbon have impacted QIA.

While the current volume of Qatar’s FDI in India is modest, QIA and other state-owned entities as well as private investors in Qatar are keenly looking at attractive investment options in India’s infrastructure sector, including real estate/construction, roads/highways, airports/airlines, ports; LNG, petrochemicals and fertilizers; and tourism/hospitality. It may be recalled that the UAE has announced its intention to invest $75 billion in the Indian government’s National Infrastructure Investment Fund.