Canada & India Relationship to Remain Strong under New PM Justin Trudeau

10 Nov, 2015 by Dwarka Lakhan

Toronto, Ontario: November 10, 2015: Excel Funds Management Inc. (“Excel Funds”) believes that Canada’s newly-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will maintain and enhance the strong relationship Canada currently has with India.

PM Trudeau emphasized his position on Indo-Canadian relations in a statement on India’s 69th Independence Anniversary back in August, 2015, saying: “I was honoured to have met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi just a few months ago, where I reiterated my view that we must continue to strengthen and expand the economic and cultural links between our two countries. If elected, a Liberal government will preserve and grow our bilateral trade relationship.”1

Trudeau recognized India as “an enduring model of a strong, stable democracy in the world,” before stating that, “Together, [Canada and India] stand as a testament to the fact that countries can prosper not in spite of their diversity, but precisely because of it.”

Incidentally, the India-Canada relationship has been growing steadily over the last decade. In 2014, bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $6.5 billion, up from $2.9 billion 10 years ago.2

In an effort to strengthen their relationship, Canada and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to examine the feasibility of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to broaden and deepen cooperation in all economic fields; encourage trade and investment flows; minimize tariff and non-tariff barriers; enhance transparency of regulation; and promote cooperation among relevant institutions.

Canada has also identified India as a priority country in its Global Markets Action Plan which seeks to target the markets that matter to Canadian businesses and to ensure that Canada’s interests are advanced in those markets.3

Canada and India have also signed several bilateral agreements for co-operation in areas such as audio-visual co-production, nuclear energy, social security, scientific and technology, and air transport. The two countries have also commenced negotiations towards establishing a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement which will provide greater predictability and certainty for Canadian investors considering investment opportunities in India.

“I am excited about the growing ties between Canada and India and the commitment by Prime Minister Trudeau to strengthen our relationship,” says Bhim D. Asdhir, President and CEO of Excel Funds Management Inc. “As manager of the Excel India Fund, the largest and longest-running Canadian mutual fund focused solely on investing in India, the improving relationship between the two countries is a positive indication for our investors on the value of India as an attractive investment destination.”

Keeping in tune with the theme of India as a lucrative market, Excel Funds has planned a due diligence trip slated for early December, 2015, where a delegation of investors and industry experts will obtain a firsthand experience of the country’s growth, perform onsite visits of companies they will potentially invest in and meet management teams as well as key government officials. This event is an essential part of the firm’s goal to bring new opportunities in the emerging markets to all of its clients.

Excel Funds has also recently expanded its client base and is now offering its investment strategies to institutional investors. The firm will seek specifically to provide customized solutions to institutions by leveraging the services of its unrivalled network of on-the-ground sub-advisers, located in key markets around the globe. Mr. Asdhir is confident in the firm’s decision to tap into the institutional market noting that, “The seismic shift in the global economy, engendered by the dramatic rise of emerging markets, has opened new windows of opportunity for institutional investors seeking to maximize their risk-adjusted returns.”

About Excel Funds Management Inc.

Excel Funds Management Inc. is a multiple Lipper Award winner specializing in emerging markets. Founded in 1998 with the launch of the Excel India Fund, the largest and longest-running India-focused mutual fund in Canada, Excel Funds has become a true leader in the emerging markets investment space by offering a wide-range of innovative investment products that capture new growth opportunities.

Leveraging a best-in-class investment team and an unrivalled network of sub-advisers, Excel Funds has access to the knowledge base of over 500 local portfolio managers and 200 analysts around the world. Its on-the-ground sub-advisers and proprietary asset allocation models contribute to the firm being recognized as “The Authority in Emerging Markets”.
1 Liberal Party of Canada, Statement by Liberal Party of Canada Leader Justin Trudeau on India’s Independence Day.
2 Statistics Canada.
3 Government of Canada, India Market Access Plan 2015 – 2017.

Dwarka Lakhan

Dwarka Lakhan is a pioneer in emerging markets journalism in Canada. His first emerging markets article, “Africa Joins Ranks of the Emerging,” appeared in Investment Executive, Canada’s leading newspaper for financial advisors, in September 1994. Since then he has written hundreds of articles on the full spectrum of emerging markets and has conducted more than two thousand interviews with emerging and frontier markets investment professionals.