The Hindu : India close to investing $1 billion in Sudan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2003

International

International - India & World

India close to investing $1 billion in Sudan

By Neena Vyas

KHARTOUM OCT. 21. India is hoping to make a nearly $1 billion investment in Sudan by buying a 25 per cent stake, currently owned by Austrians, in what is known as the 5A/5B oil project.

This will be in addition to the roughly $750 million investment in getting 25 per cent stake in Sudan's biggest oil field six months ago from which the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Videsh, is expecting to get back its investment within three years.

During talks with the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Energy Minister of Sudan, indicated that the 5A/5B project deal was "under active consideration", the Minister for Information and Technology, Arun Shourie, who is accompanying the President, told the press at a briefing here today.

Earlier, the ONGC Videsh Managing Director and CEO, Atul Chandra, said that the company was also looking to help Indian companies get two projects which are on offer from Sudan — an oil pipeline from Khartoum to Port Sudan and a project to revamp an oil refinery at Port Sudan. If all these projects came through, India's total investments would go up to about $ 2 billion, he said, adding that China had already invested about $20 billion in Sudan.

Mr. Chandra's company is trying hard to build a strong relationship with the Sudanese people — a gift of $400,000 to the country's football club, distribution of 10,000 footballs to children, donation for buying equipment for a cancer hospital and running two hospitals with ambulance services for rural areas around the ONGC complex here. A stadium here is to be named after the ONGC, he added.

Two of three agreements to be signed between India and Sudan tomorrow are related to providing some legal framework for the protection of these investments — an avoidance of double taxation agreement and another related directly to protection of investments. After these agreements come through on Wednesday, the President will emplane for Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, for the third and final leg of his three-nation tour, before returning home on October 25.

Mr. Kalam has already extended an invitation to the President of Sudan, Omer Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir, to visit India. A $50 million credit line has also been offered and some assistance for flood relief in Sudan in the form of medicines.

Mr. Shourie today said that a very important development which took place in Dubai before the President left for Sudan was the decision by the United Arab Emirates to nominate the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Hamban bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as the person in-charge of coordination with India.

He is expected to make an early visit to India along with a business delegation. India's perception is that if it can create the confidence that investment in India is safe, and even profitable, the close to $200 billion "parked" elsewhere by the Emirates could be invested in infrastructure projects in India.

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