CDC wants to focus on investments in Health, Agriculture and AI in India says CEO Nick O’Donohoe
30 years ago, CDC UK government’s finance institution made its first major investment in India. The investment was about 1.5 billion dollars and led to a direct indirect job creation of about 350,000 jobs. Since then Indian economy has thrived and gone up beyond recognition. Last week marked the 30thanniversary of CDC’s long standing partnership with India. CDD’s current chairman Nick O’ Donohe came to India to mark the celebrations and with a big investment plan for 2020.
In an exclusive interview with BW People Nick talks about CDC’s India plans, his visit to India and CDC roadmap for the Indian markets.
Q- Please explain to the readers what CDC is all about and what is the purpose of your visit to India right now?
CDC is the UK’s development finance institution. It was founded 70 years ago. It’s a PLC, so it is an independent company. From the very beginning of our history 70 years ago, CDC’s vision has been to invest money. We invest capital in a way that stimulates development. We focus on some of the poorest countries in the world. If India is a poor country or not is a separate country. But when we started investing in India 30 years ago, it was by most standards considered a poor country. But the economic development of India particularly in the last 25 years has been extra ordinary. What CDC tries to do in India is that it tries to focus its investments in some of the poorest states in India. Although India is becoming richer as a nation. There is still a very important role for CDC in trying to channel capital in some of the poorest states in India.
Q- You are here to celebrate the 70thanniversary of CDC globally and 30thwith India. So, what kind of investment plans have you brought in with this visit and what is your road map?
During this visit, we have announced that our aim is to invest another 1.7 billion dollars in India and the neighbouring countries but the majority of that will be in India. Today our existing portfolio is about 2 billion dollars. And we will be regionally focussed in India this time. We will also focus of sectoral opportunities to make a difference to people’s lives. We have announced a 50-million-dollar investment in affordable housing sector with Kotak Equity. We will continue to invest in health. We are hopeful to find ways to invest in agriculture. We are also looking for investment opportunities in AI.
Q- Last CDC investment in India was 1.5 billion dollars which led to a direct creation of 350,000 jobs in India. What can we expect this time?
The portfolio of 2 billion dollars that we have in India is invested directly or indirectly in about 300 companies which are employing about 350,000 people. As of now it is difficult to say as to how many jobs this will create directly. We are investing in those industries which have the potential to create jobs. And I think if you look at our current portfolio it is almost the same size as the additional money we are looking to invest now. So it looks pretty big this time.
Q- Which other countries are going to benefit from this 1.7 billion dollars CDC is investing in Asia?
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal are the principle ones.
Q- How much money is CDC investing in Pakistan this time?
There is no fixed numbers on that. But currently our 10 per cent of South Asian funds are invested in Pakistan so about 200 million. This time it could be more than that. We don’t want to set specific targets. We want to find potential markets to invest in that create jobs.
Q- Which companies and Ministries is the delegation meeting during the visit?
Apart from the celebrations in Delhi and Mumbai, we will be meeting senior business leaders from various sectors to talk about their growth perspectives with CDC.
