DANISH companies are eyeing the northern region for new investments. Pointing out that prospects for investments by Danish companies looked promising, Danish ambassador in New Delhi Ole Lonsmann Poulsen said that the agriculture sector could see fresh investments especially in the food processing sector. He said that Punjab could be the obvious choice where Danish joint ventures have great potential. Other areas which hold promise for investments include lifesciences, biotechnology and the information technology sector. Speaking on the sidelines of the opening of the corporate office of Widex India, the Indian arm of Widex A/S, Mr Poulsen said here today that already there had been some 70 joint ventures in India and in the near future this figure would touch 100 with some of the joint ventures likely to come Punjab's way should the Danish companies find suitable partners. He told ET that Chandigarh with its clean and salubrious environment and its proximity to the hills could prove to be an easy target for investments by Danish companies who were now looking up north for suitable partners." It would be my endeavour to promote Indo-Danish trade and convey to the Danish companies desirous of setting up joint ventures in India about the opportunities and infrastructure developments in the northern region." He said Denmark ranked 19th largest foreign investor in India and direct investment inflows from Denmark into India from 1991 till December 2006 totalled $161.8 million. " This will go up in the near future as more companies look for business opportunities here, he said. Recently, Widex pumped in 1 million in the Rs 11 crore equity of the Indian arm Widex India. Among major Danish investors in India include AP Moller Group, Cheminova Agro, F L Smidth & Co, Danfoss, CHR Hansen, Danisco, LM Glasfiber, Lundbeck A/S and Egmont International Holding. While the two way bilateral trade between India and Denmark has been on the rise, he felt that there was need to expand and widen the trade basket. The balance of trade however, remains in India's favour increasing the Indian trade balance surplus from $83.2 million in 2005 to $197.1 million in 2006. India's major exports include apparels/readymade garments, textile yarns, fabrics and carpets.Danish imports from India now, he said, account for 0.64 % of Denmark's global imports. He hoped that during 2007, the twoway bilateral trade would get an added fillip and that more companies would come together for joint ventures in several areas of mutual interest. He also indicated that the Danish prime minister was likely to visit India sometime February 2008.