Non-Resident Punjabis doing their bit to take Indias booming economy forward

A number of non-resident Indians (NRIs), looking for best investment opportunities, are keenly looking at Indias growing economy.

By Sunil Sharma/Karan Kapoor

Chandigarh, Nov 19 : A number of non-resident Indians (NRIs), looking for best investment opportunities, are keenly looking at India's growing economy.

Desiring to be a part of the India's growth story, many non-resident Punjabis are now ploughing back redemption proceeds from various NRI deposit schemes and investing them in India's stock markets.

Growing liberalisation and the opening up of India's economy is luring NRI investors, who are directly or indirectly pouring money into the Indian capital markets.

G S Chahal has already invested nearly 20,000 dollars in the past two years. The money has been sent by his Canada-based son-in-law and two brothers-in-law based in the United States.

Chahal, 61, regularly consults investment companies specialising in capital markets and investment banking.

"My advisors on investment, Allegro, advise me on how to invest in mutual funds and direct us if any insurance or taxation is required. They even guide us on the stock market scrips in which one can invest; so that you get better profits and your investments are divided properly," said Chahal.

Investment service providers are flourishing across Punjab and cashing in on the stock market boom.

Options are now wide open for NRIs to invest in the Indian capital market with maximum returns, be it equities, property or mutual funds.

By picking up equity stakes in Indian companies they form a major component of the country's Foreign Direct Investment.

"The stock exchange is a secondary market. Then there is a primary market with many companies floating their shares. The stock market may not have much of a ripple effect, but will have a very positive effect in the primary market because the people's confidence builds and grows with the growth of the stock market. So even the primary market succeeds," said Romesh Pande, a stock market expert.

The Portfolio Investment Scheme allows NRIs to acquire shares/ debentures of Indian companies or units of domestic mutual funds through the stock exchanges in India.

At the Ludhiana Stock Exchange, queries by NRI investors are growing manifold for the best investment opportunities.

The rupee appreciation and the market being at a new high have buoyed NRI investors on the lookout to enter the market.

"If the US economy has not slowed down, it has become a bit static. And the Federal Bank of the US has cut the rate of interest. Now it is somewhere around 4.5 percent. So there is a lot of attraction if they come to India and they can make lot of profit by investing in the Indian capital market. So the number is increasing day by day," said Prof Arvind Malhotra, Director, LSG Securities Ltd.

NRI investment in Indian capital markets will benefit them immensely, as it is monetarily rewarding and emotionally gratifying and helps them in maintaining their bond with their homeland. So it's a double-bonanza for NRIs.

ANI