India to see more Japanese institutional, retail money: Sundeep Sikka

Sundeep Sikka of Nippon Life India Asset Management predicts a surge in Japanese institutional and retail investment in India, driven by deepening trust and economic ties, marrying Japan's long-term capital with India's opportunities.

India could see more institutional and retail money coming from Japan as economic ties and trust between the two countries deepen, according to Sundeep Sikka, Managing Director and CEO of Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited.

Speaking to ANI during an Indian business delegation's visit to Japan along with the Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Sikka said Japan's pool of long-term capital and India's investment opportunities complement each other. "As it's getting better, more Japanese money will come into India. Whether it's institutional money or retail money, I think clearly it is visible," Sikka said, referring to the strengthening relationship between India and Japan. "Japan has got long-term patient capital, India has got opportunity, and the idea is to marry the two," he added.

Tapping into Japanese Household Savings

Sikka said there was significant scope to increase investments from Japanese household savings into India, pointing to the currently limited exposure of Japan's mutual fund industry to the country. "The household savings of Japan, now there is very little in India, the total of Japan's mutual fund industry, only 1% money comes to India. We feel that there is a scope, like India-Japan relationship is increasing, there will be more investments in the future," he said.

Expanding Scope Across Sectors

He said growing comfort between businesses in the two countries was also expanding opportunities beyond individual sectors. "All of them are getting a comfort that there is a business opportunity both sides. And since morning we've been discussing it's no more just about one particular sector, it's across 20-30 different sectors," Sikka said.

Highlighting the role of successful Japanese businesses in attracting more companies to India, Sikka said the presence and performance of existing Japanese companies could encourage others to enter the Indian market. "After seeing one, another company comes. So, today we see that after seeing our success, we feel that many more financial services companies are coming to India. So, it is doable, it is possible," he said.

Strengthening Bilateral Ties

Sikka said improving bilateral ties could eventually make Japan an important source of capital for India alongside its role as a trade and investment partner. "With the comfort that is developing between the two countries, we clearly see India and Japan will not only become a most important trade partner, but it will also become the best source of capital," he said.

He added that greater trust between the two countries would ultimately translate into higher business activity. "When the relationship and trust increases, the business also increases," Sikka said.

Piyush Goyal Leads Largest-Ever Delegation

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is on a four-day visit to Japan from August 24-27, leading a delegation of more than 200 Indian business representatives, the country's largest-ever business delegation to Japan.

The delegation, comprising representatives from sectors including manufacturing, semiconductors, clean energy, automobiles, financial services, healthcare and start-ups, will visit Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka for meetings, roundtables and business engagements aimed at strengthening India-Japan trade and investment ties.

India-Japan bilateral trade stood at USD 27.47 billion in FY2025-26, with Japan's exports to India at USD 21.43 billion and imports from India at USD 6.04 billion. The two countries are also working towards a target of 10 trillion yen in Japanese private investment into India over the next decade, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan in August 2025. (ANI)

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