Modi-Trump ties may rev up FDI: Cisco chairman John Chambers

MUMBAI: Cisco chairman and United States India Business Council (USIBC) chief John Chambers expects foreign direct investment (FDI) from the United States to rev up once President-elect Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi get down to working together. Chambers said he personally as well as Cisco were doubling down on the faith that India would lead GDP growth as well as the digitisation momentum globally.
“The initial dialogue between the two leaders (Trump and Modi) went off very well and both sides are fully engaged now,” Chambers told TOI, while adding that the American companies have committed to bring $27 billion FDI in the next two years. “I have interacted with several top leaders. Modi is among the three smartest leaders I have met,” he said, arguing that the Indian PM was revamping the country’s image as a slow follower, tepid innovator and not a risk taker.

Chambers declined to name the other two leaders he admired, adding with a full-throated laugh “it would land me in trouble”.

He said Modi was putting forth a pro-growth agenda and a win-win situation for Indo-US relations, which he said would become the most important not in the region but in the entire world. “There’s a natural alignment and it’s almost as if the two countries can sense each other. I think Mr Trump is going to be a good president. Both nations are in the midst of dramatic changes and it’s important for us not to overreact to specific developments but on the eventual outcomes,” he said, adding that any negative effects of the demonetisation move would be a temporary bump.

Chambers said Trump has to address the fact that politics in the US was out of touch with people for while, and has to focus on creating 25-35 million jobs in the next four years, which “I think is doable”. The business sentiments are positive and stock markets have recovered to all-time highs, he noted.

Even though Canada, Japan and China have hogged the limelight as significant suppliers of FDI in recent years, Chambers said inflows from the US could revive in a big way. “We have data from about 52 US corporations with significant investment plans in the next two or three years,” he added.

Chambers said he was not too worried about talk of rising protectionism and nationalism “as digitisation will carry on regardless”. Calling digitisation an important driver of new jobs and wealth creation, he said India has the opportunity not to lead the emerging markets but even the developed markets. He said digitisation was a significant market transition currently under way and countries missing this may have short-term gains while losing the long-term advantage.

“Two and a half years ago, when I said India will be leading the global growth, many of my counterparts disagreed. All the US business delegates who came for Vibrant Gujarat went back impressed. While your national GDP can grow at 8-9%, some of the regions can report much higher growth of 12-15%,” Chambers said, while mentioning Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje for special praise.

Chambers said Cisco was partnering with 16 of the top 20 cities on smart cities programme, delivering skills training for 2.5 lakh people and committed $240 million for investing in India startups.