At Davos, three MNCs evince interest to invest in Punjab

Ruchika M. Khanna 

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Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, January 31

Punjab’s maiden participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos is likely to attract investment proposals from some multinational companies such as Naspers, Proctor & Gamble and home grown major like Wipro.

Nestle, which already has a unit in Punjab, has also put the state in its future investment programme after a meeting with the Punjab government delegation at Davos. 

Officers from the Industries Department and Bureau of Investment, Punjab, led by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who were in Davos to hard sell Punjab as an investment destination, said the state got a positive response from the doyens of industry. The World Economic Forum has also offered to carry out a pilot project on road safety here, and has put Punjab on its “first priority consideration” list. 

“We were invited to participate in the Davos meet, and we wanted to explore how we can leverage Davos to get international investors’ interest in the state,” said Vini Mahajan, Additional Chief Secretary, Industry, Punjab. She said the participants in the summit were enthused by Punjab’s bid to sell itself as a perfect destination for investing in India, on account of skilled labour availability, infrastructure, cheap and effective power supply and excellent labour and industry relations. 

Punjab made a strong presence at the summit, with the state getting to hard sell itself at the main centre of the summit — Congress Centre. The state also made its case as a world-class investment destination by participating in sessions on food security and mobility, which witnessed a formidable presence in the Country Strategy Dialogue (for India), said Rajat Aggarwal, CEO, Bureau of Investment Promotion, Punjab. Other than Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana government, too, had participated in the WEF. 

The success at Davos comes close on the heels of the new industrial policy of the state, brought in by the Capt Amarinder Singh government. In the past two years, the state had received investment proposals worth Rs 35,260 crore, with an average investment of Rs 1,640 crore every month, said Aggarwal. The largest investment in the state since April 2017 (Rs 21,991 crore) has been committed by HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited at Bathinda, followed by Varun Beverages (PepsiCo) of Rs 800 crore at Pathankot, Betelgeuse Infra Private Limited of Rs 642 crore at Ludhiana, Verka (Rs 327 crore) at Fatehgarh Sahib and Sportking (Rs 250 crore) at Bathinda.