TIME STARTS FOR SME

UK-based financial institutions and banks are keen on investing in Indian small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and a large number of establishments are also keen to invest in public-private partnership (PPP) and private finance initiative (PFI) projects in India. Mayor of London David Lewis, on his business delegation visit to Pune, said this on Friday.Lewis pointed out that sectors like infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, health and automobile are at the top priority for UK's financial firms. "The SME sector remains the most attractive segment for UK investors. The private sector in general will grow at a rapid speed in India. We also want companies from this particular segment to enter UK and set up offices there," Lewis stated.The initiatives taken by the UK-India Business Council have also produced excellent results in this particular sector over last three months. Council CEO Sharon Bamford told reporters that since January 1 this year, 26 new business proposals are nearing completion in UK through the council. "We are helping the small Indian companies to set up offices in UK and their investment needs are met through UK-based investors," Bamford stated.The mayor of London, will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi next week to discuss ways to further liberalise business processes in India. "At present, the trade from UK to India is worth Rs 70,000 crore and the same can further increase. However, issues like restrictions on foreign banks and law firms in India as well as the red-carpet attitude has put breaks on business processes. We will raise all these concerns with concerned ministers in Delhi," he added.