French will invest $10 billion over 5 years

France’s finance minister Michel Sapin said on Monday that French companies are expected to invest $10 billion in India over the next five years, mainly in the industrial sector. Mr Sapin said that French companies have been investing billions in India.

“Over the last five years, French companies invested more than $1 billion per year and we estimate that they will continue to invest at least $10 billion in the next five years,” Mr Sapin said at the India-France business session organised by industry body Ficci.

“The majority of these investments are meant for the industrial sector. This makes France a major player in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India programme. This complementarity can also be seen in the context of other programmes of the Indian government,” he said.

He pointed out that French companies represent 10 per cent of solar capacity installed in India and by 2020-22, they could add additional capacities. France’s finance minister said that his country is the third-biggest foreign investor in India with an investment stock of $20 billion and there are more than 400 French companies present in India with a consolidated turnover of over $20 billion.

He said that France has directed French Development Agency to earmark 60 per cent of total financial outlay to India.

“The economic presence of France in India goes back to a long time and is very diverse. This expression of interest in India did not wait for Indian GDP to supersede that of China,” Mr Sapin said. He also met finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday morning and has invited him to visit France for an annual economic dialogue between the two countries.

“In France, Indian companies are too few in numbers though France is one of the biggest recipients of FDI in the world. I count on all French companies in India to act as ambassadors for our country and invite their counterparts to discover in France what they are missing,” Mr Sapin added.