Sudan invites corporate India to invest in non-oil sectors
August 8, 2007 (NEW DELHI) — Urging corporate India to invest in sectors other than oil such as manufacturing, agriculture and transportation, Sudan on Tuesday said that investors can sell their products in oil-rich Arab countries by setting up manufacturing facilities in the African nation.
“Investments in Sudan from Indian companies in sectors other than oil is very minimal and didn’t reflect the warmth of relation between the countries,” Sudanese State Minister for Investment Elsimaih Elsiddig Alnour said while speaking at a meeting organised by industry body FICCI here on Tuesday.
Speaking about the advantages in investing in the country, he said Sudan’s economic prospects are promising and is a signatory of Arab free trade zone agreement, which provides an opportunity to the investors to sell their product in oil reach Arab countries by setting up manufacturing facility in the country.
Sudan has offered various incentive packages for the Indian companies to invest in that country. These includes bank guarantee provided by the government on various projects and 5 to 10 years of tax holidays which varies from sector to sector.
“The government has established a ‘one-stop-shop’ for the clearance of foreign investment proposals,” he added.
The minister assured Indian business community that starting a business in Sudan involved fewer steps, lesser time and substantially lesser cost than in most African countries.
Sudan has huge reserves of oil and natural gas and the public sector company ONGC has invested heavily in Sudan for exploration of oil through its overseas investment arm ONGC Videsh Limited. However, not much investments from India has taken place in other sectors.
(PTI)