India emerges top FTSE 100 developing market destination

India has emerged as the FTSE 100's top developing market destination from the past decade, attracting $31 billion (Rs1.9 lakh crore) of investment with 145 deals.

The investment is the highest among BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. India also came in as the fourth most targeted nation of the UK's FTSE 100 share index, a new research released yesterday by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer shows.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) statistics, from the past decade, analysed by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, offer a comprehensive picture of the investment trends of the UK's leading companies.

UK companies spent $645 billion (Rs39.68 lakh crore) across 3,967 deals globally, with over three quarters (81 per cent) of the investment targeting just 10 countries.

The UK and US accounted for the lion's share - over half (51 per cent), according to the research.

Commenting on India being the FTSE 100's top investment destination among emerging markets, Pratap Amin, chairperson of the firm's India Group, said, India had  attracted international investment in a range of sectors over the past decade, particularly those that were capital-intensive.

He added, British companies had been keen to capitalise on the opportunity and make the most of established historical, cultural and diplomatic ties. He added, there had also been some significant strategic collaborations in key sectors which had contributed to an increasing flow of investment.

Amin added, while Indian deal activity was undergoing a temporary slowdown, partly due to uncertainty over forthcoming political elections, India remained an important international destination for M&A.

The UK was the primary target for M&A deals, accounting for $168 billion, while the US was close behind with $163 billion.

Canada came in at the third spot with $51 billion, with Spain, Australia, Sweden and South Africa also in the top 10.

Freshfields said the FTSE 100 investments over the past decade had been geographically concentrated, with over three quarters targeting just 10 countries, adding when it came to searching for faster growth, India had tended to be the front runner over the last 10 years.

Examples of deals between UK and Indian companies included BP's tie-up with Reliance Industries, which was worth $7.2 billion, while  Tesco had also agreed to a deal with Tata Group's apoparel retailing arm, Trent, to launch a retail chain in India (See:  FIPB clears Tesco's $110-mn investment in multi-brand retail JV with Tatas).