India OKs Volvo, Disney, Honda investments

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Monday said it had approved 32 foreign direct investment proposals worth 2.5 billion rupees ($55.7 million) across a range of sectors and involving firms such as Volvo, Walt Disney Co., Honda Motor Co.
The largest proposal cleared was a 1.4-billion-rupee plan by Singapore-based Walt Disney Co. (South East Asia) Pte. Ltd., a unit of the Walt Disney Co., to invest in India's United Home Entertainment Ltd.
United runs the popular Hungama children's channel.
Volvo Bus Corp. received approval to form a joint venture with Bangalore-based Jaico Automobile Engineering with an initial investment of 272 million rupees ($6.06 million) to produce 1,000 bus bodies a year for the Indian market and possibly exports.
The government also gave a green light to Japan's Honda Motor Co. to set up a subsidiary for the management of its spare parts operations and business planning.
A 450-million-rupee proposal by U.S. firm Beekman Helix India Partners LLC to infuse capital into its Indian arm, which invests in companies engaged in real estate sector, was also among those cleared by Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram.

Source : Reuters