India and Canada are expected to see robust M&A activities in the coming months, especially with Indian entities scouting for opportunities in Canadian energy and life science sectors, according to Deloitte.

"The M&A scenario between India and Canada is currently active and there has been a spurt in activities in recent times. A robust trend is expected in the coming months," global consultancy Deloitte MD (Canadian Tax Services) Christopher Roberge told PTI.

Both countries have business relationships and their bilateral trade is expected to be around USD 15 billion by 2015. For the year ended March 31, 2010, their trade was worth over USD 3 billion.
Roberge noted that Indian players are showing keen interest in Canada''s oil & gas, clean technology and life sciences areas, among others.

Similarly, Canadian industry too is interested in the Indian market. "Companies from Canada are likely to focus on Indian players that are engaged in clean energy, agriculture and infrastructure sectors," he said.
India and China are also working on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which Roberge said is expected to be finalised in 18 to 20 months.

Deloitte''s Director (India Services Group) Arvind Vijh pointed out that there are also a lot of similarities between the tax systems followed by the two countries. Such a scenario would also help the businesses of both nations, he added.

India''s foreign direct investment in Canada stood at around 2.97 billion Canadian dollars, statistics from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada show.

The foundation is a non-profit think-tank on Canada''s relations with Asia.

Source: http://news.in.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4807639