‘GCC attractive investment destination for Indian firms’

Doha: Alpen Capital yesterday announced the publication of its research paper titled ‘GCC as an investment destination - Opportunities for Indian companies’ exploring the favourable characteristics of the GCC and the opportunities it presents to Indian investors.
The relation between GCC and India has further strengthened over the last decade, with the increasing import of oil and gas, growing trade, investment opportunities and presence of a large Indian diaspora. 
India’s growing significance as one of the fastest growing global economic powerhouses, and as a part of their growth initiatives, Indian corporates scout for attractive overseas investment opportunities. 
GCC’s investor friendly economic environment, geographical proximity and inherent advantages in energy-intensive manufacturing hold tremendous potential for attracting further investments from Indian industries. 
“GCC offers strategic advantages, such as availability of cheap energy and feedstock supply, low tax environment, well-developed infrastructure, growing population and increasing income levels, conducive for the development of various industries in the region,” says Managing Director, Alpen Capital, Sameena Ahmad.
“All these advantages if properly showcased could attract substantial investment flows from Indian corporates, who are looking to expand their global footprints and scouting for distinctive cost advantages to remain globally competitive,” she said.
“We as Alpen Capital specialise in the GCC-India corridor and have concluded several transactions in this sphere,” says Managing Director, Alpen Capital, Sanjay Vig.
He said there are several opportunities that exist in the GCC for Indian companies and “we see a lot of interest from Indian corporates to establish a presence in the GCC. This trend is on the rise and we will continue to work closely with our clients and the respective governments to facilitate these transactions”. 
A variety of catalysts for investment growth exist in GCC. While the oil industry is undeniably a pillar for the GCC economies, the region’s priority is to achieve sustained economic growth through development of non-oil sectors. This can be achieved by increasing private sector participation, strengthening local technological capabilities, developing a skilled workforce, improving the competitiveness of exports in global markets and by attracting substantial overseas investments. 
Continued government spending to boost competitiveness, self-reliance and developing local skilled work force would offer potential investment opportunities in sectors such as Petrochemicals, fertilisers, plastics, pharmaceutical, sugar refining, aluminium and steel. 
In addition government support and infrastructure is expected to grow in sectors such as Information and Communication technology and Agriculture, Food processing, Education, Financial Services and EPC.  
The Peninsula