Wine investment firm Amphora ropes in Cecilia Oldne to oversee India biz

London-based investment company Amphora has roped in Cecilia Oldne, an investor in Sula wine firm, to oversee its business in India.

Sweden-based Oldne has been engaged with Indian wine company Sula since 2007, and also represents Sweden-India Business Council in India.

"Amphora builds, manage and stores bespoke fine wine portfolios for collectors, investors and enthusiasts in London. They have investors from India who invest in fine wine which is stored in London for 20-30 and many more years. With my appointment, Amphora will have direct engagement in India. As MD of South East Asia, I have responsibility to manage business of Amphora in India," Oldne told PTI.

The appointment took place during STHLM Tech Fest here.

She said that India at present does not make fine wine because of lack of awareness in the market and tax issues.

"People in Russia and many in China have started buying fine wine but production is less compared to demand. Investment in fine wine at present gives annual return of around 15 per cent so money can be doubled in about six years," Oldne said.

The older generation in India favoured beer and whisky, but the younger generation is becoming more and more knowledgeable about wine because of cultural revolution, Oldne said.

The import duty however on fine wine in India is very high and at 160 per cent it is not in favour of the fine wine connoisseurs and collectors.

Amphora has been operating in India since 2014 but without any direct representative.