‘India cities to grow fastest in Asia’
BEIJING: Delhi will have the fastest growth of any city in Asia, with the economy to be almost 50 per cent larger in 2021 than it was at the end of last year.
Indian cities are set to expand the most across the region, with growth speeding up from the past five years, according to a new study from Oxford Economics, which ranked Asia’s 30 largest cities.
With financial and business services projected to be the fastest growing sector in India, Delhi’s dominance in this industry will lead to higher growth and higher incomes.
“Limits on foreign ownership of Indian companies are gradually being reduced or eliminated,” wrote Mark Britton, lead economist on the report.
Consumer firms such as Japan’s Muji are betting on the change. Parent company Ryohin Keikaku Co sees India becoming its second largest international market, after China. And Amazon.com Inc’s Indian unit is seeking approval to invest in a food supply chain and take advantage of government moves to ease rules on foreign retailers.
China’s expansion will slow, although the largest five cities will still be recording growth rates of six per cent or more.
There will be a slight slowdown across the region amid moderating import demand from China, with growth expected to average 4.2 per cent per year over the five years to 2021, down from 4.5 per cent in 2012-2016. Bloomberg