Indian investments in the United Kingdom is the eighth largest worldwide, in terms of the number of projects and creation of employment.
The UK government hopes to increase this percentage considerably in view of India's expertise and skills in the knowledge industry, especially in the information technology sector.
Prince Charles on his two-day visit to Mumbai starting Monday, will interact with some of the leading Indian companies that have set up operations in the UK, to better understand the companies' experience and problems.
This is with a view to promote and strengthen ties between the two countries, and encourage greater investment in UK.
India ranked number eight in terms of inward investment into UK in calendar year 2002 with 19 projects, employing over 300 individuals.
This is higher than Italy's 15 projects and Australia's 14. The United States continues to rank number one bringing in 283 projects in 2002, and creating jobs for 17,271 individuals.
Latest figures show that over 400 Indian companies have set up base in UK, of which 338 are information technology companies, including leaders like Wipro, Infosys Technologies, TCS and Mastek.
"Although initial investments tend to be small, experience of firms like Wipro, Infosys and TCS shows that they can grow significantly," stated UK Trade & Investment deputy director (inward investment) Steve Firstbrook.
This week Invest UK and Trade Partners UK decided to merge and form a single entity -- UK Trade & Investment, which will better facilitate Indian companies to get support and assistance to maximise their international business.
"The new entity reflects the increasingly close relationship between trade and investment within the organisation and in terms of delivering business opportunities," said Firstbrook.
In an endeavour to protect its workforce and at the same time encourage Indian investment into the region to boost revenues, the UK government is aiding Indian companies keen to set up base in the region.
"This helps strengthen the UK economy and keep it competitive," said Firstbrook. The United States is currently feeling threatened by the Indian IT sector, a fall-out of which, some state governments in the United States have passed legislation against outsourcing projects to developing countries like India.
"Using India as an offshore centre will not help the UK economy either in terms of job creation or earning revenues. Moreover, it is advantageous for Indian companies to set up base in the UK if they are to win government accounts," said Firstbrook. He cited the example of Mastek, which won the tender to computerise the London Congestion Charge project.
"Unless companies are based in UK, it is difficult to built trust and thereby broaden the customer base with the European market that stands today at over 300 million people," said Firstbrook.
The UK government tries to ensure maximum recruitment of its own workforce, and minimum import of skills.
However, Firstbrook admitted "a sizeable number of employees are taken from India because of their experience in developing innovative products."
Forty per cent of Indian investment goes to Europe and 20 per cent to the US. Of the 40 per cent invested in Europe, Firstbrook said about two-thirds is attracted to the UK, which is seen as the focal entry point for the entire European region.
This is primarily on account of similar language, shared culture in view of the huge Indian population residing there, and the competitive business environment, with the lowest corporate tax rate starting from 10 per cent.
