On August 6, 2015, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and India Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation held a conference themed “India, A Country with Opportunities” in Beijing to boost investment in India. Chinese large and medium-sized customers with interest in investing in India, the Ministry of Commerce of China, economic and trade officials from the Indian Embassy in China, and heads of the Investment Banking Department of the ICBC Head Office and ICBC Mumbai Branch attended the conference.

Vikram Kumar, joint CEO of India Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation expressed hope that Chinese investors could invest in high-speed railway, subway and coastal highway by leveraging their expertise in the construction of large infrastructure and also that Chinese companies could participate in the construction of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project. CEO Vikram Kumar expressed his confidence in the cooperation between Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and ICBC and would provide investment policy and process services to assist ICBC customers in investing in India. Both sides will strengthen cooperation to help Chinese enterprises invest and operate in Maharashtra.

According to an official of ICBC Mumbai Branch, Chinese enterprises have shown increasing interest in India for its infrastructure in urgent need of improvement and the broad internal demand market, since President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India paid mutual visits last year. In this context, ICBC, as the only bank from Mainland China in India, has been implementing the “One Belt and One Road” strategy, aiming to provide all-around investment and financing support for Chinese enterprises going to India by establishing a Sino-India investment information platform, and strengthening the promotion of policies facilitating investment, policy environment, and legal and tax policies in India.

Maharashtra is the largest state with the highest GDP in India. As a core government organ in Maharashtra, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation is mainly responsible for managing affairs related to infrastructure, such as planning of land, road, water supply, drainage facility and street lamp and has taken the lead in developing various industrial parks in Maharashtra.