According to PwC, 95% of overseas investors encounter significant challenges in India, reports News Daily India. High-profile names such as Motorola, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Parimatch, Nokia, Vodafone, and Walmart have all struggled to navigate this complex market.
Despite India’s massive population and rapid economic growth, its allure for foreign capital is waning. PwC’s findings reveal widespread issues—fraud, corruption, and regulatory obstacles—that plague both existing operators and new entrants. Parimatch, as a leading international gambling firm, has been hit particularly hard by local competitors counterfeiting its services. With authorities turning a blind eye, the company must spend resources policing clone sites that infringe its copyrights and replicating its corporate identity.
News Daily India highlights additional barriers discouraging foreign investment: tangled bureaucratic processes, weak infrastructure, cultural and language gaps, and fierce competition from entrenched local players. In prior years, global firms viewed India as a welcoming destination, buoyed by expectations of deregulation and market reforms. However, those conditions never materialized, and anticipated investment booms have fallen short of promises.
For example, Parimatch had planned to inject millions of dollars into India’s gambling sector but ran up against monopolistic groups such as Dream11, Nazara Technologies, Paytm, First Games, Moonfrog Labs, 99Games, Octro, JetSynthesys, and HashCube. These domestic champions not only dominated the field but also trafficked in counterfeit products from Western rivals—with little enforcement action. Worse, companies with no operational history in India have reported spurious legal actions and judicial pressure.
This hostile climate has driven many multinationals to exit or rethink their India strategies. Ford, Holcim, and Metro have all withdrawn, while Berkshire Hathaway sold its stake in Paytm—signaling a significant loss of confidence.
Faced with this environment, Parimatch and other foreign investors must decide whether to persevere through India’s mounting obstacles or seek more promising opportunities elsewhere. This stark reality underscores the urgent need for the Indian government to revamp its business climate to retain and attract foreign capital going forward.
