India to invest $4.2 bn in Ethiopia

Singh

Phat Cat
Super Mod
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
20,311
Likes
8,403
Country flag
India to invest $4.2 bn in Ethiopia

ETHIOPIA: India will invest $4.2 bn in 439 projects in Ethiopia, the Indian Ambassador to the country said. "Indian entrepreneurs have received licences from the Ethiopian authorities to invest an aggregate capital of USD 4.2 billion in 439 investment projects in the country," Gurjit Singh said on his visit to Dire Dawa recently.

"Trade and investment
ties between Ethiopia and India had been flourishing since the two countries were on the same track of development. The co-operation between the countries had been enhanced in the fields of agriculture, human resource development sectors, infrastructure and communication technology," he said.

There is favourable trade and investment climate in Ethiopia, Singh said, adding that India would continue promoting various investment opportunities in the country.

India to invest $4.2 bn in Ethiopia- Foreign Trade-Economy-News-The Economic Times
 

Yusuf

GUARDIAN
Super Mod
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
24,324
Likes
11,757
Country flag
Idi Amin was the dictator of Uganda not Ethiopia. Ethiopia was devastated in a civil war.
But yes I have read that their are good ops there for Indians. I read of an Indian company which is the largest producer of roses in the world, has a lot of business coming out from there and has invested heavily there.
 

ganesh177

Senior Member
Joined
May 18, 2009
Messages
1,308
Likes
1,657
Country flag
India joins 'neocolonial' rush for Africa's land and labour

India, once the colonial jewel of Britain's empire, has been accused of 'neo-colonialism' in Africa where its business people have joined a race with China, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to buy up agricultural estates and take advantage of cheap labour


By Dean Nelson in New Delhi
Published: 1:46PM BST 28 Jun 2009


Indian farming companies have bought hundreds of thousands of hectares in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal and Mozambique, where they are growing rice, sugar cane, maize and lentils for their own domestic market back in India.
Its government has given soft loans as aid to support the overseas ventures in what has been described as a challenge to China and Saudi Arabia in the new scramble for Africa. China, South Korea, and a several Arab countries have led the way in creating new African mega-farms to outsource domestic food production and use cheaper labour.
Critics have described the development as modern "piracy" and "land grabbing" from countries that have in the past been blighted by famine and severe food shortages.
South Korea has bought just under 700,000 hectares in Sudan, while Saudi Arabia has signed a deal for 500,000 hectares in Tanzania.
India is now catching up fast with its government offering financial incentives for companies to produce food in Ethiopia and other African countries. Pulses, cooking oils and maize are in short supply in India.
More than 80 Indian companies have invested an estimated £1.5 billion in buying huge plantations in Ethiopia. The largest among them is Karuturi Global, one of the world's largest producers of cut roses. It has signed deals for just under 350,000 hectares to create what it claims is the world's largest agricultural land-bank. The Bangalore-based company, which has also bought farm land in Kenya, is growing sugar cane, palm oil, rice and vegetables.
Indian farming is dominated by small, family-run holdings, bullock cart transport, and legions of middlemen. The slow, cumbersome system is cited as the main reason why a large proportion of Indian produce rots before it ever reaches the market – the annual loss is valued at up to £6 billion.
So Indian companies see in Africa the possibility to build more efficient and far larger agricultural operations. This is an separate motivation from that of many Arab countries that buy African land to produce food that their homelands cannot.
Raju Poosapati, Vice President of India's Yes Bank, which advises investors in Africa, said a government ban on non-Basmati rice exports had driven Indian companies to grow it in Africa to sell overseas. Indians are now eating more meat and that has led many companies to grow maize animal feed in Africa as there are no government incentives for Indian farmers to grow it at home.
Sharad Pawar, India's agriculture minister, rejected claims that the government supported a new colonisation of African farmland. "Some companies are interested in buying agricultural land for sugar cane and then selling it on the international markets. It's business, nothing more," he told The Daily Telegraph.
Government documents meanwhile show the details of official support, and just of under £500 million in soft loans to encourage African countries to export food to India. New Delhi has also cut import duties for food produced in Ethiopia.
A report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said more than 2.5 hectares of African land had been bought by foreign companies since 2004 and voiced concerns that poor villagers might be ousted to make way for investments. It also said it feared some of the deals may be open to corruption.
Devinder Sharma of India's Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security said the companies buying up land to export food from Africa were "food pirates" and compared them with the English companies that shipped food from Ireland during the 19th century potato famine.
"There are 80 Indian companies trying to get land in Ethiopia, and it's all to be imported back to India. The government of India has been encouraging them," he said, and warned of danger if famine returned to Africa.
"If food is being shipped out and poor people are dying, what will happen? There would be riots," he said.
 

youngindian

Senior Member
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
1,365
Likes
77
Country flag
Ethiopians say ’salaam’ to popular Indian envoy

July 5th, 2009


Addis Ababa, July 5 (IANS) Ordinary Ethiopians knock on his car window as he drives through the streets of Addis Ababa. They recognise the turbaned Indian envoy instantly and affectionately say “Salaam Babuji”.


Four years is not a long time in diplomacy, but Indian envoy Gurjit Singh has reasons to feel proud that under his watch bilateral ties have blossomed in nearly all areas, with trade and investment surging manifold from $400 million to over $4.2 billion.

“I was always touched while driving through the streets of Addis Ababa to find people often knocking at my window and saying ‘Salaam Babuji’. Through the media, we have reached vast multitudes of people in Ethiopia and I felt honoured whenever people recognised me,” recalls Singh.

He is upbeat about Ethiopia’s future.

“I see Ethiopia now in the same position India was decades ago. I’m very bullish about Ethiopia’s future. It has a very wise leadership and I see a bright future for it,” Singh told IANS in an interview.

“India is and will remain a partner of choice for Ethiopia,” he stressed.

India is now the single largest foreign investor in Ethiopia with Indian entrepreneurs getting licences from the Ethiopian authorities to invest $4.2 billion in 439 investment projects in the country.

The envoy is clearly in a nostalgic mood as he gets ready to leave for New Delhi after an eventful four-year tenure in Ethiopia, East Africa’s emerging economy that is attracting large Indian investments outstripping old favourites like Kenya.

“Being in Ethiopia for so many years has been an unforgettable experience. The memories of this place will be firmly embedded in my heart and mind,” he said.

The ambassador, who returned to Addis Ababa recently after taking part in the 13th AU Summit in Libya, left for India on Saturday. He will be back here towards July-end before formally leaving the country for his new post in the headquarters in the Indian external affairs ministry Aug 9.

Singh is widely recognised by Ethiopians to have worked tirelessly to transform relations between India and Ethiopia, an emerging economic hub in East Africa. There was a dramatic increase in bilateral engagement during his tenure in nearly all areas, including educational linkages, scholarship programmes, ITEC (Indian Technical and Educational Programme) training facilities, investments and capacity building.

“We’ve managed to shorten the distance over the Indian Ocean between the two countries. I really take pride for being an ambassador here in Ethiopia at a time when the relationship between the two countries underwent a dynamic shift, a shift from a family kind of relationship to a more institutionalised South-South Cooperation,” he said.

“Today, the two countries have a common stance on issues ranging from terrorism to ways of resolving the current global economic crisis.”

Indians, who were known as traders and educationists, are now active in just every sphere of life and inspire respect and affection. India has its oldest embassy in Africa in the Ethiopian capital.

Bilateral ties have acquired a sharper focus with the emphasis on development partnership – an approach India claims sets it apart from other countries like China that is seen to be driven mostly by the profit motive.

The Ethiopian Military Court Administration (EMCA) members will head to India shortly and representatives of the Indian Customs Authority are already here helping their Ethiopian counterparts with modernizing their database system.

The EXIM Bank of India is planning to open its East African office here in Ethiopia, an important development in which Singh has played a crucial role.

Gurjit Singh can now go to Delhi with a sense of accomplishment. “I won’t say I have accomplished my mission. It’s not possible to do everything in a few years,” he said.

–Ind-Asian News Service

Ethiopians say ’salaam’ to popular Indian envoy | Sindh Today - Online News
 

ZOOM

Founding Member
Regular Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
577
Likes
11
$4.2 billion, that's alot of money. Shouldn't India be spending that on its own underdeveloped interior?
Yes Vladimir, you are absolutely right to suggest India to spend equal amount sum on its backward region. But as you know, in order to feed such a vast population, India has embarked upon Globalisation as any other country striving to become develop nation. This investment is part of that effort, since investing such a huge portion has certainly to do with securing some rich oil blocks in Ethopia, as India has a rising enegy demand which cannot be meet based on existing arrangements. Hence all this expensive exercise. At the same time, India's budget for 2009-10 is soon going to declared on this 6th july, you need to have a watch for it, certainly you may find some provision for upholding people living in below poverty line, and sum must be atleast greater then what India is looking to commit anywhere abroad.
 

EnlightenedMonk

Member of The Month JULY 2009
Senior Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2009
Messages
3,831
Likes
28
$4.2 billion, that's alot of money. Shouldn't India be spending that on its own underdeveloped interior?
We need to work tirelessly to counter global influence of some hostile nations in our neighbourhood... this scheme is clearly much more important from the long term perspective...

Plus, foreign investment is flowing into India at the rate of 1 billion dollars a week, so I dare say we have a few bucks to spare...
 

ZOOM

Founding Member
Regular Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
577
Likes
11
FDI isn't exactly your money and looking at the situation of Dalits, I dare say every rupee to spare is needed.
Vladimir, you concern is highly understandable. But lifting people living below poverty line isn't overnight job, it will take years, I mean even decades to completely erdicate poverty. As long as, India is growing, we can assure you that all your concern will certainly going to addressed and that's a promise.:bye:
 

thakur_ritesh

Ambassador
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
4,435
Likes
1,733
an image building exercise by mr gurjit singh, and a good attempt at that. initially i thought this was like many of the numerous economic news that flash all over the press but here is the real catch, mr singh to join mea by month end. they say success has many fathers and mr singh has certainly not missed the opportunity of being one such father. never before did one ever hear about indo-euthopian trade being covered by the media or the 430 odd individual investments amounting to 4.2b usd of which i am sure hardly any has taken off ground and neither is the euthopian ministry delegation coming to india or the same heading to euthopia from indian side or a african union conference happening in india. personally speaking i dont read too much into this which looks like an attempt to get a better deal for mr singh when he is to join mea and may be get a better profile and i am sure we have not heard the last of mr gurjit singh, dont forget that name, get used to reading the name in certain sections of media.

Vladimir,

most of those projects would be private in nature and 4.2b usd in 430 odd projects mean something like 10(odd) m usd/project. india has seen its growth thanks to private players and these companies see huge growth potentials (they intend to double revenues in very short time period) both with in and out side the country and this is quite clearly an attempt at that fast paced growth outside the borders of the country. there is a upper limit each company can invest in dollar terms each year out side the country and this is very well with in those permissible limit, mind you all this investment will happen over a period of years, no time limit is given, also from where this money will be sourced is again not pointed out. there is culture of going global with the smallest of the enterprises in india and i wouldnt be surprised if a lot of these investments are being made by small time companies which would be doing an yearly t/o of around 10-20m usd, also the amount of competition in euthopia wouldnt be as vast as in other places and this can certainly be seen as an attempt by these companies to make investments in africa routed through euthopia where there is still the first move advantage.

as far as india is concerned, i dont think that is such a big problem, investment rate as a % of gdp is around 40% which is good by any standards and as the opportunity offers these companies keep making all such investments with in india, also india has opened its own flood gates to fdi, though this does not mean we get enough investments, we are still thirsty for investments, as per one stat some 100,000 (if i recall the fig right) new businesses are started in india each year, so there are opportunities and indians are making use of those. if you look at the bigger picture and see the picture 15 years from now when in most of the sectors indian companies will be in numbers in the top 10 slot then the whole plan will be clear, india's attempt is to take over this world through its private companies which gets spoken by the indian industry as a rise of "soft india" where indians will be giving employemt to people all over the world, helping in genertaing revenues for the host govts, and influence in their decision making in favor of india and is well supported by the GoI.
 

StealthSniper

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2009
Messages
1,111
Likes
61
I think India is doing the right move right now. We can always prepare for the future and I think food and water will be very important to sustain and grow our economy in the near and long term.
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top