“Love the PM”, “Authentic Man” – IBM, Shell, Coke, Lockheed and many more firms queue up to invest in India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit has enthused the captains of the industry as the corporate tax cut has made the investors bullish about India and see merit in investing in India. Prime Minister Modi has met over 61 executives of top energy and technology companies as executives from IBM, Shell, Coca Cola and Lockheed Martin have showered praises on India and the Indian economy.

Unsurprisingly, Prime Minister Modi was the only foreign leader to gather and meet with so many top US executives during the week of the United Nations General Assembly. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Walmart CEO Doug Mcmillon, 3M CEO Mike Roman, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, Mastercard CEO Ajay Bhanga, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson and 30 others were in attendance at the private meeting which lasted over two hours.

Lockheed Martin has been betting big on India with the company slated to begin supplying the wings of F-16s scheduled from its Hyderabad plant in 2020. Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson was upbeat after meeting with PM Modi and congratulated him for his pro-growth policies.

IBM is infusing over $6 billion in India has already created over 50,000+ jobs in the country and one can expect more to follow as its CEO Ginni Rometty is beaming with optimism about India post her meeting with the Prime Minister. Rometty lauded PM Modi for his authenticity and claimed that the ease of doing business is a win-win for both India and IBM.

In 2017, Coca Cola signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Food Processing Industry as it pledged to invest at least $1.7 billion in India and its Chairman and CEO, James Quincy was equally excited to be a part of Prime Minister Modi’s investment summit as he asserted that India is et to become the company’s 3rd most important market in the world.

Shell has been investing big in India and it recently acquired a 100% equity in Hazira LNG and Port Companies and its CEO Ben van Beurden praised the Prime Minister’s strong and comprehensive speech and said that PM Modi’s four D’s of democracy, demography, demand and decisiveness were very powerful arguments to invest in India and will continue to invest in the country in the coming years.

Bank of America was part of some of the largest M&A and fund-raising transactions in India in 2018 which crossed the $100 billion-mark and its CEO Brian T. Moynihan lauded the government’s pro-growth agenda and the ease of doing business in India.

According to EY India, Private equity and venture capital investments into India have hit a record high of $36.7 billion in 2019. This surpasses the previous all-time high of $36.5 billion in 2018. This surge comes on the back of large investments in the infrastructure sector that have accounted for 35 percent of all PE or VC transactions so far in 2019. At $12.8 billion, fund flow into the infrastructure sector is more than what the sector has seen since 2012. Foreign portfolio investors have pumped in a staggering ₹76,052 crore in equity. These figures completely contradict the clamours of slowdown which have become the major talking point in India as investors are making a beeline for India.

The sheer enthusiasm with which PM Modi’s visit is being followed both in India and the US goes on to show the kind of popularity he enjoys. The endorsement by President Trump and the subsequent tax cut will act as a huge shot in the arm for the Indian economy. He has met the top executives of prestigious companies at a breakneck speed and one can expect a slew of investments in India in the coming years.