While Tim Hortons and McCain Foods may have the biggest brand recall when it comes to Canadian businesses in India, Canadian investments in the country go far beyond coffee chains and frozen snacks. Canadian pension funds, asset management companies, and financial services and insurance players are invested in key sectors of India’s economy, including financial services, financial technology, infrastructure, real estate, information technology, and energy.
According to the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency, or Invest India, Canada is the 18th largest foreign investor in India with cumulative investment of $3.31 billion from 2020-21 to 2022-23. The share of Canadian investments in total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India was 0.5 per cent. Services and infrastructure accounted for about 41 per cent of Canadian FDI in India.
On the trade front, bilateral trade in goods stood at $8.16 billion in 2022-23, with an almost equal split between imports and exports. India’s exports to Canada during the year were $4.11 billion, while imports were $4.05 billion.
“More than 600 Canadian companies have a presence in India and more than 1,000 Canadian companies are actively doing business in the Indian market,” Invest India said. It said that between 2003 and 2019, Mumbai and Bengaluru were among the top 10 destination cities for Canadian outbound investment in Asia Pacific. Canada counts India as a priority market.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has invested extensively in India across various sectors including infrastructure and financial services. It has stakes in Kotak Mahindra Bank, Indus Towers, Paytm, Zomato, Nykaa and Delhivery. It also owns US-listed shares of Indian majors like Infosys, Wipro and ICICI Bank. CPPIB also has business partnerships with Piramal Enterprises, Shapoorji Pallonji Group and Larsen & Toubro. According to the Invest India website, CPPIB has recently secured investments worth $14.8 billion in India.
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) counts India as a strategic market and, according to its website, had invested about $6 billion in India by the end of 2022. Over the past few years, CDPQ has invested in companies such as Kotak Mahindra Bank, Edelweiss Group, Piramal Enterprises, TVS Logistics, Azure Power Global and Aprava Energy. In February 2020, it launched a $300 million private credit platform with a third-party asset manager to invest in India.
Toronto-based alternative asset management major Brookfield Asset Management owns and operates infrastructure and real estate assets, including 47 million square feet of office assets, solar and wind energy assets, a construction business, telecommunications infrastructure assets and real estate management. Services included. It also has a real estate investment trust (REIT) in India.
Fairfax India Holdings, an arm of Canadian financial holding company Fairfax Financial Holdings, has invested in various Indian companies in sectors such as logistics, financial services, shipping, manufacturing and infrastructure. It is the largest shareholder of Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL), the operator of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport.
Other major Canadian investors active in India include Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS), and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.
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Then there are Canadian companies like Sun Life Financial that have set up business in India. It is a joint venture partner with Aditya Birla Group in Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management, a financial services major that offers products and services such as insurance, mutual funds, asset management, lending and housing finance.
Other Canadian businesses in India include auto parts and mobility technology company Magna International, which has 13 manufacturing and assembly facilities in India, and IBI Group, which designs high-rise buildings, industrial buildings, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure projects for integrated cities. Designs. , IBI Group has been involved in some smart city projects in India.
Indian companies in Canada are active in sectors such as information technology, software, steel, natural resources and banking. Major Indian corporates with a significant presence in Canada include Tata Consultancy Services, Aditya Birla Group, Wipro and Infosys.
© The Indian Express (P) Limited
First published: On 21-09-2023 22:44 IST