UK-India Investment Summit to kick off in London

Excerpts from Power Breakfast on CNBC-TV18 Watch the full show » RELATED NEWS Indian domestic matches to be broadcast overseas BSE | NSE 10/02/12

The first-ever UK-India Investment Summit will be held in London. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Britain on the occasion is expected to boost flagging business ties between the two countries, reports CNBC-TV18.

Despite all the friendly activity between India and Britain, only 1% of British trade is with India, and only 0.5% of British FDI goes to India. Manmohan Singh will lead a move to change that.

"The entire attention today is riveted on India. So this is the opportunity for India to leverage. This is the image of India, which has never been so good as an investment destination as it is today. And that is why it is the government's job and the Prime Minister's intention to leverage that image of India," said Ashwini Kumar, Minister of State, Commerce and Industry.

Many businessmen believe that the time has finally come for better business ties. Lord Karan Billimoria, Co-Chairman of the Indo-British Roundtable said, "There's a huge amount of interest, increasing almost literally day by day in India. The India story is now gathering enormous momentum. And British businesses are now waking up, in every field and in every sector."

The first ever investment summit is being held with the expectation that a businessman looks at a glass 99% empty, and sees opportunity. Opportunities have been hyped for a while, but now there is reason for hope.