The Hindu : Business : U.S. investors watching land acquisition issues closely

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U.S. investors watching land acquisition issues closely

Special Correspondent

West Bengal has lot to offer, says U.S. Consul General

KOLKATA: American investors are watching closely how the government resolves issues surrounding land acquisition for large investment projects and would like to see signs of assurance that future investment projects in West Bengal would be free from disruptions caused by political disagreements, Beth Payne, U.S. Consul General in Kolkata said. She said that her impression of West Bengal’s Chief Minister after her three-month stay here is “very good”.

To a question, she said that he had a standing invitation to visit her country.

She said U.S. investors were looking for stability, transparency, rule of law and most important a respect for agreements and contracts. “American businesses know that West Bengal has a lot to offer and its workforce is one of the best educated in India with one of the lowest attrition rates.”

Ms. Payne was addressing the members of the Merchants Chamber of Commerce.

Potential markets

She also said that despite the current global economic crisis, there were still a lot of potential markets for products from West Bengal in the U.S. markets.

Ms. Payne said a local exporter had recently informed her of a major export contract that he had signed with a U.S. firm.

On visas and work permits, she said she did not expect them to be impacted in any way by the global financial crisis. “The U.S. will continue to promote open markets and open investment as the surest means of advancing both U.S. and global economic growth she said.

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