Trump To Ask Indian Companies To Expand Business In US During His Scheduled Meeting With Industrialists 

United States President Donald Trump will ask the Indian companies with business interests in his country to expand their current capacity with local resources, and use America as a gateway to access other markets when he meets Indian industrialists on Tuesday (25 February).

He is likely to exhort the industrialists to invest more in their US subsidiaries, and create jobs there, sounding an economic revival there.

"The US President especially will be focussing on Indian manufacturing companies pitching US as a win-win situation for them and America as well," said a senior executive of a leading Indian Industry chamber.

The US economy rebounded in Q4 after prolonged sluggish productivity slowed the American economy to achieve the Trump administration's target of 3 per cent annual growth. The economy grew 2.3 per cent in 2019, the slowest in three years, after logging 2.9 per cent in 2018. The President's quick trip may not though see any trade pact, but Trump said there will be a 3 billion dollar defence deal with India.

Trump in an election year is on visit to India for two days.

Some Indian manufacturing as well as services firms have noticeable presence in the US like Mahindra which last year said it will invest another $1 billion in America and was committed to creating American jobs, while Bharat Forge has announced plans to invest $56 million to set up a new plant in North Carolina. Construction equipment major L&T has two delivery centres in the US.

The Tata Group is one of the largest Indian-headquartered multinationals in North America, with 13 companies and more than 35,000 employees.

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal, Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro chairman A.M. Naik and Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw will be among the CEOs who will be part of the roundtable in Delhi with Trump.

Trump, who on Monday hinted at working with India on a "fantastic and largest-ever deal" and that Indo-US trade grew 40 per cent and the US economy has done well during his tenure of the last four years, is seeking investments from Indian companies mainly manufacturing ones to create jobs.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)