Leading consultancy firm Deloitte has said that despite the prevailing gloom, it is expecting an increase in number of deals between British and Indian companies and presently working on transactions potentially worth $5 billion.
The firm, which typically advises England-based companies looking at India as a sourcing or consumption destination and also helps Indian firms access capital in England, is at present working on deals worth $5 billion potentially, its British chief executive Mr David Sproul told PTI here.
“There is an increase in the conversations. If you are looking for a graph, it is not going up sharply, (but) it is edging up slowly,” he said.
There was a significant jump in transactions between the two countries in the two years preceding the 2008 global slowdown, with several deals being concluded like the Tata Group’s takeovers of British steel company Corus and luxe auto brand JLR. It also saw some domestic corporates like Vedanta and Essar accessing capital through the equity route.
On the impediments hurting investment by England-based companies here, Mr Sproul said though India is a lucrative market, doubts over the uncertain regulatory environment have been hurting inflows.
“Business needs certainty to make an investment and there is a concern that there is a decreasing certainty and increasing uncertainty in India around regulatory environment and tax policy,” he said.
“Western businesses are less concerned about GDP growth being at seven rather than nine percent, but they are concerned about lack of certainty in business environment,” he said.
There has, however, been a shift in Indian companies contemplating a London listing in the discussions he has been holding, Mr Sproul said.
“What is interesting is that many of the listings to date have been in the power and resources but we do now see other sectors looking at this, beyond power and resources such as consumer and industrial sectors,” he said.