'Chinese SoEs to invest more in India with less restrictions'

China's state-owned companies will step-up investments in India if the government trusts them more and further reduces restrictions on them, the official media here reported.

"It is likely to be a golden era for Chinese private enterprises investing in India over the next few years, and it is possible that increasing commercial blending could help enhance mutual political trust between Beijing and New Delhi," an article in the state-run Global Times said.

Referring reports from India that Indian government is in talks with about 300 Chinese firms to channel investments, it said already direct Chinese investment into India has gone up by six times higher last year.
 

Recent Chinese official media reports said the Chinese investments in India last year has gone up to USD 1.06 billion.

"India has reduced investment restrictions and further opened up its market for foreign investors, which is one of the reasons behind soaring investment from China. Some well-known Chinese private enterprises such as telecom giant Huawei have shown great enthusiasm for investing in the country after the Indian government adopted a more open mind in attracting Chinese private investment," it said.

India could see "faster growth in investment from China over the next few years if the Indian authorities can give more trust and further reduce restrictions on China's state-owned enterprises (SoEs), where the Chinese government is the biggest shareholder," it said.

"The rising investment is expected to continue in 2017," it said.

Referring to a recent study from the US-based Brookings Institution which stating that the number of India's middle classes could increase to 380 million surpassing China's 350 million, the article said "it is understandable that countless Chinese firms have shown an increasing interest in the burgeoning Indian consumer market".

Sino-Indian ties have become more competitive than complementary in economics and trade, increasing uncertainty in the bilateral relations due to expansion of India's manufacturing sector, it said.

"Encouraging more Chinese firms to invest in India is one of the most effective ways to enhance economic complementarity, and could help promote mutual trust," it said.