West Bengal must decide what it wants: US chamber

Kolkata, Dec 1 : Potential investors from the US want the West Bengal government's industrial policy to be more 'transparent' and the Marxist-ruled state must decide what it really wants, a report released by the American Chamber of Commerce in India said.

"The way the state dealt with investors like the Salim group of Indonesia and also what went behind the (Tata) Nano incident need to be explained," Aniruddha Lahiri, head of The Chatterjee Group, which represents the chamber here, said while disclosing the report Monday evening.

The Salim group, which in the past drew flak for its controversial business dealings in Indonesia, is partnering the state in promoting a petrochemical hub in Nayachar, East Midnapore.

"Make transparency the key watchword of governance, its the only weapon to use in a war of attracting investment," the report said.

The chamber that represents the US companies operating in India said the West Bengal government should have a "cohesive mindset" to attract investment.

"The state can't ask for American investment and yet be perceived as anti-US," it said.

"America is bad but American investments are good" is the ideology of the government, said the report.