Indian PM woos Australian investors
November 17, 2014, 6:55 am

The Indian Prime Minister also lauded the Australian province for allowing a $16-billion investment in coal mining in the state [G20, Australia]

“We have made our policies transparent and predictable. We have made our procedures clearly defined and smooth,” Modi said.

Modi, who will address the Australian Parliament on Tuesday, was speaking at a breakfast meeting hosted by Queensland Prime Minister Campbell Newman where several Australian business leaders were present.

Modi also urged Queensland to partner India in energy, mineral resources, agriculture and food security projects.

“You will not only be able to convert opportunities into partnerships, you will do it in an environment that is welcoming and easy to do business in,” he said.

The Indian Prime Minister also lauded the Australian province for allowing a $16-billion investment in coal mining in the state.

Meanwhile, on Monday, India’s Adani Enterprises signed a memorandum of understanding with the State Bank of India for a $1 billion loan to help it build a $7-billion coal mine port project in Queensland.

The support from India’s state lender defied a slump in coal prices to 5-1/2 year lows that has stalled rival projects.

“The MoU with SBI is a significant milestone in the development of our Carmichael mine,” Adani Group Chairman and founder, Gautam Adani, who has close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said in a statement.

Adani is part of the Indian Prime Minister’s business delegation to Ausralia.

The Carmichael mine has sparked protests from green groups and marine tour operators worried about carbon pollution and export of the coal from a port near the Great Barrier Reef.

Glencore Xstrata Plc and BHP Billiton are among global miners canceling projects and cutting workers to cope with escalating production costs and slumping prices in Queensland in stark contrast to Adani Group’s decision to press ahead with a $21 billion bet on Australia’s Galilee Basin.

Australia coal imports to China are projected to rise 22 per cent by 2018, while exports to India are predicted to increase 83 per cent to 185 million tons.

The Australian economy slowed in the second quarter with gross domestic product (GDP) rising a weak 0.5 per cent. The economy is struggling with the winding down of a decade-long boom in mining investment.

Australia has placed great premium on closer ties with China and India over the last few years.

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said, “Whatever else this century brings, it will bring Asia’s rise. The transformation of the Asian region into the economic powerhouse of the world is not only unstoppable, it is gathering pace.”

In 2012 the Australian government published a White Paper on ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ explaining Australia’s pivot towards growth engines like India and China.

TBP and Agencies