India-UAE B2B Center launched simultaneously in UAE, India

Dubai - The Dubai center will function as the representative office for the UAE, the Cochin center will be a representative office for India.

An Indo-UAE Business to Business center was opened simultaneously in Dubai and Kochi on Sunday to provide information and guidance to the Indian and UAE business community that is keen to invest in both the countries.
At a time when the India-UAE relationship, especially in the business and economic domain, is poised to grow, IBMC Financial Professionals Group has launched the first of its kind UAE-India B2B Center to channel investors to sectors in both countries. While the Dubai center will function as the representative office for the UAE, the Cochin center will be a representative office for India.
The group is also trying to channel investment from the UAE to various emerging projects in India including semiconductor and electronic chip manufacturing plans for which $750 million seed money is needed. The Electronic Design and Manufacturing Plan which includes semiconductor designs, electronic manufacturing services, electronic products, solar, LED and health care products involves an investment of $100 billion for zero imports by 2020. Dependence on foreign suppliers poses a remote monitoring threat to India's national security, warns Mumbai-based Next Orbit Ventures.
Special India-focused investment funds are also being planned from the Abu Dhabi Global Market, Sajith Kumar, a financial professional and Managing Director of IBMC International told Khaleej Times. This initiative is also to use Abu Dhabi as an alternative route to channel investment fund flows to India. This role is currently being played by Mauritius. The UAE-India B2B Center is a futuristic initiative by IBMC Financial Professionals Group with the objective of "support [ing] and boost [ing] bilateral investment, trade and business." It is a single point contact for identifying, analyzing and getting support for investors from both the countries, he said.
"We have identified ten to fifteen areas where there is future investment potential. In the manufacturing sector, there are many new projects coming up in the UAE and India will be one of the major markets for the products manufactured here. India is one of the major markets with a growing population. We have tied up with various free zones and the economic departments of various emirates to provide accurate information to potential Indian investors who cannot always come down and explore the possibilities," said Kumar.
"Basic information needed to start a new company or project is to be provided to Indian investors," he said. Adding that the physical offices started today will be used to conduct road shows and work in India and in the UAE. A B2B portal was launched last year for the same purpose."
"Foreign Direct Investment and Foreign Institutional Investments are the main areas that we will explore. In India, there is a new plan to manufacture electronic chips and semiconductors which are currently imported. These products worth $ 90 billion are currently imported. Now the plan is to manufacture these in India."
"To start a new project in India, an initial seed fund of $750 million is required and we will be coordinating efforts to channelize these funds." He said UAE investors are interested in India's electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) sector. Mumbai-based venture capital firm Next Orbit Ventures (NOVF) will invest $750 million in digital, analog and solar fabrication (FABS) projects along with semiconductor design, electronics, LED and solar products to feed those FABS. Dubai-based IBMC Financial Professionals Group is the advisor to this second $750 million ESDM fund for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). IL&FS Securities Services Ltd is appointed as a custodian for this fund in India and also a Designated Depository Participant (DDP) for their feeder funds set up globally to pool investments.
"We have started negotiations with the Sovereign Wealth Funds of UAE through the International Investors Council and other wealth funds." A new global exclusive India fund is also being formed at the Abu Dhabi Global Market for the first time and we are coordinating this to give proper confidence to the big investors from the UAE," Kumar said.
"Indian investors are looking for investment opportunities in the UAE. In specialized projects like solar parks, Indian professionals are keen to explore investment opportunities. The existing Indian companies and businesses are also not fully aware of the emerging opportunities in the UAE. We are going to be a source of information and guidance for the existing Indian businesses too."
Located at the Al Manara Office, Dubai, the UAE India B2B Center was inaugurated jointly by Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Hamed, Chairman of IBMC International UAE and Sajith Kumar P K, CEO and Managing Director, IBMC Group. "We are happy to launch the first of its kind UAE India B2B Center to provide full support to the UAE and Indian business community to explore the vast business opportunities in both the countries. UAE and India have decades of healthy business relations and the simultaneous launch of UAE India B2B Center in UAE and India will further strengthen the relation between two countries," said Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Hamed, Chairman-IBMC International UAE.