PM Modi asks AIIB to expand financing from 4 billion US dollars to 40 billion US dollars by 2020

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 26, 2018, said a  ‘New India’ is rising. It is an India that stands on the pillars of economic opportunity for all, knowledge economy, holistic development, and futuristic, resilient and digital infrastructure. The Prime Minister said that we are happy to have this opportunity to deepen our engagement with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and its Members.

AIIB started its financing operations in January 2016 and in less than three years, it has in its fold, 87 Members. PM Modi further said, “With committed capital of 100 billion dollars and huge need for infrastructure in Member Countries, I take this opportunity to call upon AIIB to expand its financing from 4 billion US dollars, to 40 billion US dollars by 2020 and 100 billion US dollars by 2025.”

Addressing the Opening Session of the third Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Mumbai,PM Modi said that his Government has taken a number of steps to boost investment. We have simplified rules and regulations for businesses and undertaken bold reforms, he said.

” We have provided investors an environment which is efficient, transparent, reliable and predictable. India is one of the most investor-friendly economies in the world. Investors look for growth and macro-economic stability. From the point of a foreign investor, India counts as an extremely low risk political economy. Agriculture is the lifeline of the Indian economy. We are promoting investments in warehouses and cold chains, food processing, crop insurance & allied activities among others,” the PM said, according to a PIB release.

Lauding the efforts of AIIB, the Prime Minister said, ‘’India and AIIB are both strongly committed to making economic growth more inclusive and sustainable. In India, we are applying novel Public Private Partnership models, Infrastructure Debt Funds, and Infrastructure Investment Trusts to fund infrastructure.”

PM Modi said that India is trying to develop brownfield assets as a separate asset class for infrastructure investment. Such assets, having passed the stages of land acquisition and environment and forest clearances, are relatively de-risked. Hence, for such assets, institutional investment from pension, insurance and sovereign wealth funds are likely to be more forthcoming, the Prime Minister said.

In a short period of just over two years, AIIB has approved 25 projects in a dozen countries with a total financing of over US $4 billion, he said.

Stating that India, being one of the most investor-friendly economies in the world, has emerged as a bright spot in the global economy, PM Modi said, “With a size of 2.8 trillion US Dollars, it is the seventh largest economy in the world. It is the third largest in terms of purchasing power parity. In the fourth quarter of 2017-18, we grew at 7.7 per cent. In 2018-19, we are projected to grow at 7.4 per cent.”

The Prime Minister said, ”Our macro-economic fundamentals are strong with stable prices, a robust external sector and a fiscal situation firmly in control. Despite rising oil prices, inflation is within the mandated range.” The Government debt as a percentage of GDP is also consistently declining, he added.

Counting India as an extremely low risk political economy from a foreign investor’s perspective, the Prime Minister Modi said, “The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is one of the most significant systemic reforms that our country has undergone. It works on the One Nation – One Tax principle. It reduces tax cascading, increases transparency, and adds to logistics efficiency. All of this makes it easier for the investor to do business in India.”

The size and growth of the Indian market hold much more potential. India’s per capita income has doubled in the last ten years. ” We have over 300 million middle- class consumers. This number is expected to double in the next ten years, ” said the Prime Minister.

Union Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance and Corporate Affairs Piyush Goyal, in his initial remarks, said that the newly emerging institutions have the potential to redefine the contours of multilateral financing and set new rules for engagement.