Australian pension funds are interested in India’s growth, evaluating projects against global allocations and demanding a level playing field, indicated, Philip Green High Commissioner of Australia to India, in an exclusive conversation with The Hindu.

However, according to the High Commissioner, future investment hinges on India addressing higher taxation on Australian funds compared to competitors like Singapore. Providing competitive, world-class tax treatment would significantly increase India’s attractiveness for these massive institutional investments, he stated.

According to Mr. Green, Australian pension funds are big organisations with massive staff. “When I go to see them in Australia, they all understand the India opportunity and they’re all interested in it. And when particular projects or prospects come up, they will look at them and see how they fit in terms of their global asset allocations,’’ he added.

Mr. Green said, the government was not very directly involved in these decisions as these are big institutions that can make their own judgments. “We do identify that India has a lot of growth prospects. Look, there is a lot of reasons, pro and con, why Australian pension funds would think about India and need to make qualified judgments. But the one thing I would say to you is that what we are seeking is an even playing field for Australian pension funds.’’

Mr. Green said, they pay a higher level of taxation in India than funds which come from places like Singapore. And one thing that India could do to make it more attractive for Australian pension funds to invest here would be to have the world’s best treatment for our pension funds in your country.

When asked what was single biggest sticking point right now that was holding back the Indo-Australia trade deal, Mr. Green said both the countries already have the first phase of trade agreement, called ECTA (Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement in 2022) in place and which was going extremely well.

“But you’re right that we’re anxious for more and that’s why we have been seeking to land an ambitious and future facing comprehensive deal that we call CECA(Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement) to build upon the existing Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA).’’

Quoting statistics, Mr. Green said over the last five years, India’s exports to the world have grown by 40%, but its exports to Australia have grown by 200% during this period. So, Indian exporters, like Australian exporters, were already benefiting substantially from the first phase free trade agreement, he added.

Responding to a query on the time frame, Mr. Green said, ``Now, the way in which these deals work is that there’s no one issue which needs to be cracked to resolve it. As we say as trade negotiators, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed and it’s a diversified package across the various areas.’’

“But I think it’s worthwhile saying that where Australia is looking for new opportunity in India is a further reduction in tariffs,’’ the High Commissioner emphasised.