Exploring Trade and Investment Opportunities between India and Select African and Asian Economies

Abstract

Using descriptive statistical analysis, this study examines trade and investment opportunities between India and 41 African and Asian economies (mostly LDCs) by focusing on the latter’s export opportunities in the Indian market and on India’s investment opportunities in the selected countries. It also discusses barriers to realizing the identified trade and investment opportunities between India and the selected economies, based on a review of the existing literature. Amongst the sample countries, the top sources of merchandise imports for India over time include Nigeria and Angola from Africa, and Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal from Asia. India’s main imports from Africa include petroleum oils, precious stones and metals, mineral ores, coal, natural gas, and agricultural products. India’s imports from Asia have also been concentrated in few traditional product lines such as jute, fish, gold, petroleum oil, copper ores, ferro-silico, beans, nuts, and non-alcoholic beverages. Thus, the export baskets of the sample countries studied in this report are still not diversified enough to meet the rising demand for consumer and capital goods in India, which points to the immense untapped potential for enhancing these countries’ trade and investment relationship with India.