CII Partnership Summit 2009: Kamal Nath, Sunil B Mittal, Bimal Jalan other leaders deliberate on India & Emerging Order in Post-Crisis World

The Theme of the Summit is Building Partnerships in a Post - Crisis World. Mr. Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry is the Chairman of the Summit. The Summit focused on crucial issues like corporate governance, financial market risks, post crisis economic order, free market economies, strategic securities and economic inclusions among others.

Addressing the Summit, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs, Government of India, said that emerging economies such as India must be part of the solution to the global financial and economic crisis through an inclusive approach. Highlighting Indias commitment to pursue her rightful place in the UN Security Council and at the multilateral financial institutions, Mr Mukherjee added, Emerging economies need to have a greater role and say in global financial matters to reflect contemporary realities.

At a time when the whole world is trying to deleverage, India continues to attract record Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows, said Mr Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. During the period from April to December 2008, India received FDI inflows of US$ 18.7 billion, which is two times the levels received during the same period last year, said Mr Nath. He called upon the global investors to maintain their investment momentum in India and said that the India Story has just begun.

Referring to the Satyam episode, the minister said that this was a one-off episode and would not impact investors confidence in India. He also added that India still remains the most sought after investment destination globally. He further added that low Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio of the BSE benchmark Index Sensex, makes it even more attractive for foreign portfolio investors to invest in India. On the Doha Round of negotiations, Mr. Nath said India remains committed to the rule based multilateral trading system.

Mr. Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia - Pacific Gateway, Canada said that it was imperative to address the basics to overcome the global economic downturn. He said it is important to resist protectionist sentiments to come up as a solution to the global economic crisis. He said Canadian government remains committed to free trade and added that Canada plans to triple its international trade over the next 10 years.

In his address, Mr. K V Kamath, President, CII hoped that next 12 to 18 months would provide some respite from the current economic and financial crisis. He said in the past three months industry in India has tried to come back to normal. He also added that India would play an important role in shaping the post crisis world.

Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Immediate Past President, CII, and Group Chairman & CEO, Bharti Enterprises said The Prime Minister with his team has moved in very quickly with providing the stimulus to the economy.

Dr. Bimal Jalan, Member of Parliament, India addressing the Plenary Session on The emerging regulatory landscape stressed on the burning need for more stringent regulations in the global financial system. What seemed to be a high leverage bubble has now turned into a full blown insolvency problem. The emphasis should be on issues of connecting the financial world with the real economy, Dr. Jalan highlighted. The rules and regulations must meet the current realities with greater disclosures and transparency, he further added.

The recent episode affecting one of Indias IT majors has also raised several concerns about the role of credit rating and auditing firms. Lord Meghnad Desai, Emeritus Professor, London School of Economics and Member of The House of Lords, UK, felt that corporates would not want to get into inter-bank lending, given the vulnerability as exposed in recent times, across the world. He underscored the need to ensure due diligence on the credit rating agencies as well as on the entire financial architecture.