India on investment radar of Coke, Holcim, Best Buys have

Chief executive officers (CEOs) of a slew of Fortune 500 companies have conveyed their plans to increase or make fresh investments in India in their one-on-one meetings with Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath at the World Economic Forum meeting here.

"CEO of Best Buys, the electronic goods retail chain of the US told me his firm would like to invest in India if the government allows it," Nath told reporters after a series of meetings with CEOs of top global companies.

Nath had earlier stated that FDI in specific sectors like sports and electronics goods could be allowed soon.

Coca Cola Chairman and CEO E Neville Isdell told Nath his company planned to invest in a facility for manufacturing fruit juices. With growth of organised trade, Coke would set up a retail university to train small shop-owners in modern selling and storage techniques.

In their presentation, the Holcim team informed Nath that the company, which had a controlling stake in both ACC and Gujarat Ambuja, would pump in more investment for increasing the capacity by 10 million tonne.

The team from Unilever also conveyed its plans to strengthen presence in India. "They (Unilever) want to get more shelf on the organised retail market," Nath said. He said the huge interest in India could be gauged from the fact that he was able to accept only 20 per cent of the requests for one-on-one meetings from top CEOs.