The Commerce Ministry is fine tuning a proposal to initiate investments in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam (CLMV) through a project development fund and will send it to the Union Cabinet for clearance within a few weeks.

“We are almost ready with the proposal. We may just make a few additions based on the inputs that we are receiving (from think-tanks). We will take it to the Cabinet in a few weeks,” Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said at the launch of a report on ‘India’s Strategy for Economic Integration with CLMV’.

The government seeks to put in place a project development company, special purpose vehicles and a project development fund with a corpus of ₹500 crore to help Indian businesses explore opportunities in the CLMV region.

The fund could be used to carry out a variety of activities including feasibility studies, acquiring land or getting clearances, an official pointed out.

$100-b exports possibility

India seeks to invest in the CLMV countries (which are part of the 10-member ASEAN group) to take advantage of the free trade agreements they have with various countries such as China.

“The report finds that one of the important ways of utilising the CLMV’s economic space is by setting up manufacturing units in the region. This will help in accessing the Chinese markets through exports originating from CLMV under the China-ASEAN FTA. Additional exports worth $100 billion are possible through this route, which in turn can address the trade deficit of India with China,” pointed out Ram Upendra Das, the author of the report, who works with Delhi-based think-tank RIS.

There are several sectors in CLMV that the report has identified as focus sectors to take advantages of synergies across, manufacturing, trade and investment. These include agro-processing, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, wood and timber, light engineering, garments, automobiles, education, IT, small & medium enterprises, tourism and skill development.

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