India's booming economy drew a record $2.9 billion in foreign direct investment in the first four months of the fiscal year, nearly double last year's amount, a report said Oct. 7.
"FDI inflows in April-July 2006-07 increased by 92% to $2.9 billion from $1.5 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year," Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said.
"India is set to receive $12 billion this year as against $8.3 billion in 2005-06," Nath said in New Delhi.
For July, FDI inflows increased by a record 259% to $1.16 billion compared with $324 million in the same month a year earlier, Nath said. This total did not include reinvested earnings.
Foreign investors have been lured by India's strong economic growth. The economy expanded by 8.9% in the first quarter to June after growing by 8.4% in the financial year ended March 31, 2006.
Nath said India had received $50.1 billion in FDI since 1991 when the country began liberalizing the economy. Of this, $16 billion has come since April 2004.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2006
