SEZs to attract FDI worth $700 m

ECONOMY BUREAU
DATELINE

NEW DELHI, DEC 19: Special Economic Zones will bring in foreign direct
investment worth $700 million and give employment to 80,000 people by
the end of the year, according to the mid-year review.
The major obligation of the units under the SEZ is that they must
achieve positive net foreign exchange, it said. The commerce ministry’s
board of approval for SEZs has given final approval to 181 proposals.

The incentives for developers of SEZs include permissibility of bringing
in 100% FDI under the automatic route, income tax benefit, duty free
import/ domestic procurement of goods for development, exemption from
service tax/ central sales tax (CST) and full freedom in allocation of
space and built-up area to approved SEZ units on commercial basis.

On global trade, the review said India viewed Preferential Trading
Agreements and Regional Trading Agreements as ‘building blocks’ towards
the overall objective of trade liberalisation, which should complement
the multilateral trading system.

Most of the recent initiatives in this regard relate not only to trade
in goods, but also building plausible institutional framework for trade
promotion, including trade in services, trade facilitation and
liberalisation of investment flows, it said.

Some recent initiatives include: implementation of agreement on SAFTA
with effect from July 1, 2006, implementation of an expanded list of
preferential goods under the Bangkok Agreement with effect from
September 1, 2006; initiation of the process of working out a
Comprehensive Partnership Agreement with Korea.

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