India, U.S. sign deals worth $6 bn

WASHINGTON, SEPT. 15. In a bid to boost bilateral economic ties, India and the U.S. have signed five commercial deals worth $ 6 billion for projects in power, e-commerce and banking sectors during the visit of the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, here. The agreements, including a $ 900-million loan by the U.S. Exim Bank for purchase of U.S. goods and services, were signed on Thursday night in the presence of the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, and the U.S. Commerce Secretary, Mr. Norman Y. Mineta.

Three agreements were signed for setting up three private sector mega-power plants in India. The U.S.'s Southern Energy Inc. will collaborate with Reliance and Power Trading Corporation of India for the 3800-MW Hirma Independent Power Project in Orissa.

The project, one of largest in the world, will supply power to Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The CMS Energy Corp signed a joint development agreement with the Power Trading Corporation of India Ltd. for the Ennore Liquified Natural Gas (Lng) terminal and 1850-MW power plant in Tamil Nadu. The CMS will oversee the construction of the plant while Unocal, a co-investor, will coordinate the construction of the LNG terminal and the Power Trading Corp. will purchase the plant's output and sell it to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

Synergies Energy Department signed a memorandum of understanding with Infrastructure Development Finance Corp for funding the Shrinagar Hydroelectric Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh. Indian Internet Access and Internet service provider, Satyam Infoway Ltd, signed an MOU with the U.S. Business Network Inc. to establish a business-to-business e-commerce joint venture for cross-border trade.

An Exim Bank India press release said that the guarantee facility is unique in several respects. It marks the first ever guarantee provided by the U.S. Exim for rupee loans to finance imports of goods and services from us into India.

The Exim Bank India would provide rupee term loans to Indian companies up to equivalent of $ 100 million to import goods and services from the U.S. and the U.S. Exim would provide 100 per cent guarantee cover for principal and interest.

- PTI

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