Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said it was the intention of the government to raise the foreign investment ceiling in insurance from 26 to 49 per cent and the Centre will work out a policy for allowing foreign investment in the retail business.
"At present companies can enter the cash and carry wholesale trading business and I understand Metro is planning to start operations in two other (Indian) cities," Chidambaram said at a press conference after the 15th session of the Indo-German Joint Commission meeting.
German Minister for Economics & Labour Wolfgang Clement said Metro's investment in India may soon cross the combined investment from Germany so far.
He also said German companies were looking at investing in the Indian infrastructure sector including in upcoming roads, telecom and power projects.
Food processing, aerospace, biotech and clean coal technology have been identified as areas where investment from Germany could take place.
Coal bed methane was identified as another area of cooperation, which would be studied by a joint study group, Chidambaram said.
Clement also invited Indian companies to invest in Germany, particularly in the eastern part of the country. He said some 60 IT companies had already invested in Germany.
Chidambaram said the Indian industry had raised the issue of anti-dumping duties in the European Union. For instance, capital goods, and especially those for the textiles sector, is a large item of import for India. "If textiles is subjected to anti dumping, then it is mutually defeating," the minister said.
He said Germany was one member of the EU which believed in free and open trade and often found itself in a minority when it came to voting on anti-dumping and added that the German delegation had assured India that it would seek a second look at the anti-dumping practices.
The two sides reiterated their commitment to double bilateral trade to Euro 12 billion by 2012.
