India Deepens UK Trade Ties With Bilateral Deal

Tom Burroughes

6 July 2015

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, or ASSOCHAM, and the UK India Business Council have inked a new bilateral agreement to cement trade relationships between the countries, while the UK Chapter of ASSOCHAM was also launched last week.

With non-resident Indians a significant client segment of wealth managers in the UK and India enjoying – so far – the tailwinds of optimism around the election of last year’s BJP Party, the moves can be seen as efforts by both sides to capitalise on such forces. (To view a recent example of wealth managers' exposure to Indian investments, see this story here.)

Rana Kapoor, president of ASSOCHAM and founder and chief executive of India-based YES BANK, led the signing event with the release of a report titled Make in India – Pressing the Pedal. The report argues that the value of Indian exports is expected to grow by $64 billion annually.

The UK is the fourth-largest foreign direct investor into India, the report said.