London, Jul 17 (UNI) UK Prime Minister Theresa May has voiced the hope that India would raise its first ever international sovereign bond this year in London's capital market. and the growing business links between the two countries would create jobs and prosperity from Manipur to Manchester.
She also said new immigration rules after the UK left the European Union would help Indian professionals and employers who want to do business in the country.
"When the Indian government raises its first ever international sovereign bond later this year, I hope they do so in the City of London - whose capital markets, with their unrivalled depth and liquidity, are the best in the world," May said, addressing the India Day conclave here on Tuesday.
She said both UK and India are in the midst of an immensely productive period of economic relations and the story of the UK and India in 2019 is not a story of our complex and intertwined history, but of the flows of capital, technology and business.
In 2018, the combined turnover of Indian companies in the UK more than trebled in just five years, reaching almost £50 billion.
Indian FDI in the UK is growing faster than that from any other country, soaring by an incredible 321 per cent in just 12 months.
Bilateral trade rose by 14 per cent last year.
"And once we leave the EU, our new immigration rules will see an individual’s right to work in the UK determined not by where they were born, but by what they can bring to our nation – a boost for Indian employers who want to do business in the UK," she said.
The India Day meet focused on financial services and technology in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox.
Goyal thanked May for the hospitality extended by British friends from government and industry, and expressed confidence in strengthening bilateral ties between UK and India.
"Interacted with investors from UK during a roundtable meeting and discussed various opportunities that Indian market offers for growth. The investors expressed their keenness to explore Indian shores for investments," Goyal said in a Twitter post.
UNI SRJ