Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet CEOs of top US companies over breakfast on Monday to hard sell India as the best investment destination in Asia. India needs huge investment to drive its manufacturing sector, which is the biggest job creator.
The new Modi government has vowed to increase the share of the manufacturing sector to 25 per cent of the GDP from 15 per cent currently. For this, the sector needs to grow at 10 per cent annually. Hours before he left for the US last week, Prime Minister Modi launched the ambitious "Make in India" campaign, where he promised red carpet treatment for investors minus the red tape that has come to be associated with doing business in India. (Also read:US Investors Warm up to PM Modi, but Want Quick Reforms, Tax Clarity
On Sunday, at a packed Madison Square Garden in New York, the Prime Minister repeated that promise and vowed to repeal archaic laws and make investing easier in the country. (Read: At 'Modison' Square Garden, I Thank You, Says PM Narendra Modi)
PM Modi will meet CEOs of 11 top US companies today over breakfast, and follow it up with one-on-one meetings of 15 to 20 minutes each with six CEOs of top US companies and institutions.
On the list of those who will meet him one-on-one are: W. James (Jim) McNerney Jr, chairman of Boeing; Laurence D. Fink, CEO of American multinational investment management firm Black Rock; Ginni Rometty, president and CEO of IBM; Jeffrey R. Immelt. chairman and CEO of General Electric; Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs; and Henry Kravis, CEO of American private equity fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. (KKR). (Read:PM Modi to Hard Sell India Story to Fortune 500 CEOs in US Visit)
At the breakfast meeting, Mr Modi - who is fasting for the Navratri festival and is reportedly having only water - will interact with 11 leading CEOs, including Google's Eric Schmidt, David M. Rubenstein of The Carlyle Group, Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat, Doug Oberhelman of Caterpillar Inc, Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and Michael Ball of US-based global pharmaceutical company Hospira Inc. and Kenneth C. Frazier of Merck and Co.
PM Modi has had a long experience of negotiating with top business leaders and as Gujarat's Chief Minister, he made the "Vibrant Gujarat" investors summit a successful brand.
He does not need anyone to help him with business talk and does it with great confidence and elan, officials who have seen him in action say. In Japan too, PM Modi engaged deeply in business talk -- placing the needs of investment before CEOs clearly, promising all help, and getting firm answers, officials added.
The "Vibrant Gujarat" biennial event was launched in 2003. It has grown in the last 12 years to emerge as "a global business hub" and has established Gujarat as a major investment destination. Next year's summit, to be held in January, is being billed as the "Davos of the East".
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