Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone woos more Indian investors.

As many as 50 Indian companies, including DCM Shriram and LT Foods, have expressed interest in expanding their operations to Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) in the UAE, which already has 3,100 operational Indian companies, a senior official from the zone said.

The management of the economic zone, which is holding the second edition of RAKEZ Business Investment Forum in New Delhi this week, is scouting for more investments in sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, aeronautics, food and beverage and chemicals, according to Ramy Jallad, Group CEO, RAKEZ.

“India is a very important market for us for sourcing investments. Of the 14,000 units that are operating in RAKEZ, 22 per cent are from India. And there is enormous scope for Indian companies to expand their operations,” Jallad said.

Among RAKEZ’s Indian success stories are automotive major Ashok Leyland, personal care product maker Dabur and steel structure manufacturer G K Technologies.

Pharmaceutical is an area, where Indian companies are yet to make their mark at RAKEZ, but which holds immense potential.

“We recently had a programme in Mumbai specifically for the pharmaceutical industry and top companies including Sun Pharma, Torrent and Cipla were interested to know how they could invest in RAKEZ and export to the Gulf Cooperation Council market,” Jallad told BusinessLine .

Easy access to West Asia, North Africa, Europe, South and Central Asia through major logistical hubs available in the Emirates, is one of the major attractive features of RAKEZ, Jallad said.

HBL