India's foreign direct investment up threefold in '06

India's foreign direct investment nearly tripled last fiscal year as overseas investors increasingly flocked to the country.

India's commerce minister Kamal Nath was quoted in an AP report saying that foreign direct investment in the fiscal year ended March 31 rose to about $16 billion from $5.5 billion in the previous year. These figures do not reflect the billions of dollars that have been coming into the stock and bond markets.

Nath attributed the surge to India's economic boom and increasing liberalization of rules regarding overseas investment in recent years.

Last year, several global companies, including IBM, Nokia, General Motors and Suzuki, announced major investments in the country.

Today, foreign direct investment flows account for 6.8 percent of total investment in the country, up from 0.5 percent three years ago, said Nath.