U.S. firms get $7b in contracts from India<\/p>\n
BOMBAY (AFP): U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown said here
\nyesterday that U.S. companies had signed contracts worth a total
\nof US$7 billion during what he described as a \"tremendously
\nsuccessful\" visit to India.<\/p>\n
Brown, speaking to corporate executives in Bombay, the final
\nleg of his six-day visit to India, said that despite the
\nimpressive amount of business drummed up during his mission \"we
\nhave just begun to scratch the surface.\"<\/p>\n
\"This is only a small start to an unlimited potential for
\ntrade between our two countries,\" the U.S. commerce secretary
\nsaid to prolonged applause from the gathering of Indian business
\nleaders.<\/p>\n
Brown, who met Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in New Delhi
\nand visited Bangalore, India's technology center, before coming
\nhere, said Indo-U.S. trade and investment had not lived up to its
\npotential in the past.<\/p>\n
\"This mission has changed all that dramatically,\" Brown said,
\nlauding a \"new era in Indo-U.S. relations.\"<\/p>\n
\"This mission has been a tremendous success,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. commerce secretary said the $7 billion in contracts
\nsigned by U.S. firms during his visit would mean more jobs,
\neconomic growth and a higher standard of living for both Indians
\nand Americans.<\/p>\n
\"The work we have done will give millions of parents options
\nto choose,\" he said. \"It will help India to grow and prosper.\"<\/p>\n
Representatives of 26 large U.S. firms accompanying Brown
\nsigned contracts during his stops in New Delhi, Bangalore and
\nBombay for multi-million dollar projects in power, oil and gas,
\ntelecommunications, aviation and other fields.<\/p>\n
Among the contracts was a $700-million deal signed yesterday
\nbetween Hughes Aircraft Corp. and Afro-Asian Satellite
\nCommunications Ltd. to set up a mobile satellite communications
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
Finance<\/p>\n
Earlier yesterday, during a visit to the Bombay Stock
\nExchange, India's largest bourse, Brown called for a further
\nopening of the state-dominated financial services sector to U.S.
\nfirms.<\/p>\n
\"I hope the banking sector here becomes less regulated and
\nmore open to U.S. banks,\" he told brokers assembled in the
\ntrading ring.<\/p>\n
\"I also hope India will allow foreign firms to trade on their
\nown account on the stock exchanges here,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The United States has one of the world's most competitive
\nfinancial systems,\" Brown said. \"American banks, if allowed more
\naccess to India, can attract more capital to this country.\"<\/p>\n
Brown said that although India's leaders \"had taken the
\npainful decision to begin and go ahead with the reform program,
\nmore progress needs to be made, especially in the financial
\nservices sector.\"<\/p>\n
\"Bombay, India's gateway to the world, has for too many years
\nseemed closed to American businesses,\" he said. \"The doors have
\nnow begun to open because of the courageous reforms begun in
\nIndia.\"<\/p>\n
Brown said he was encouraged by the assurances he received
\nfrom Rao, who began stripping away the protectionist insulation
\nfrom the Indian economy more than three years ago, that the
\nreforms would continue.<\/p>\n
\"Those words were music to our ears,\" he said. \"The only way
\nthe economy of India can prosper is through liberalization.\"<\/p>\n
Seeking to provide reassurance of his own to Indian exporters
\nworried about the formation of regional trade blocs, Brown said
\nthat the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) did not
\nerect any barriers to world trade.<\/p>\n
\"With the setting up of the World Trade Organization and the
\nsuccessful conclusion of the Uruguay round of talks, the next 20
\nyears will see the elimination of trade barriers across the
\nworld,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The United States is India's largest trading partner with two-
\nway trade estimated at $8 billion. U.S. corporations have been
\nthe largest foreign investors in India's liberalizing economy.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-firms-get-7b-in-contracts-from-india-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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