CommMin meet with retailers ends on positive note

In a bid to woo global retailers to invest in India, the commerce ministry on Thursday is held a meeting with top foreign and domestic retailers, reports CNBC-TV18. The meeting, chaired by commerce minister Anand Sharma sought to allay concerns of the companies regarding investing in the sector.

Walmart, Auchan, Tesco, Carrefour, Reliance Retail, Metro Cash-and-Carry are attending this meeting. Commerce ministry sources told CNBC TV-18 that the ministry is open to tweaking retail FDI norms after the meeting. Also Read: New FDI clarifications irk Indian retail bodies
Global retailers interested in investing in India are either fine-tuning their plans or are awaiting more clarity. Sources add that Walmart is still working on its India investment plan in order to ensure there are no compliance problems when the investment is underway.
Carrefour is in a wait-and-watch mode on its India plans and Sainsbury has decided against opening stores in India though it will continue sourcing from India.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, commerce minister Anand Sharma says, "The purpose of this meeting was to interact with the multi-brand retailers and potential investors. Some of them have established a presence in India or have set up sourcing units. This is part of an on-going dialogue between the government, businesses and investors. It was important for the government to know the areas and the issues in its policy which require some more clarity."
Bijou Kurien, president - lifestyle, Reliance Retail adds, "It is a positive sign that the minister is keen on making the policy as simple as possible so that domestic and global retailers can invest. And in that context, the clarifications that we have sought have been received very positively by the minister. I'm sure that we will work towards a win-win situation. I think a lot of people seek clarification before they actually put in an application to invest in multi-brand retail."