EUROCHAMBRES is co-organising for the second time the Global India Business Meeting taking place in Belfast (UK) on 23-25 June to debate a wide range of issues related to the Indian economy.

Poul V. Jensen, Director of the European Business Technology Centre will participate in a dialogue on planting the seeds of low carbon growth.

Register now with EUROCHAMBRES or EBTC and get 50% discount on the standard fee!

Global India Business Meeting programme

Indian IT companies, Tatas’ recent purchase of French firm Alti could be the prelude to a long-awaited European acquisition spree. Experts believe.

Europe seems to have become the new favorite destination.

\A number of Indian software firms have made acquisitions in the European Union off late, Notwithstanding Europe’s stringent labour laws and high operating costs.

Besides the Tata, Geometric acquired 3Cap Technologies for 11 million euros in January.

Last year, Infosys acquired Swiss consulting company Lodestone for $350 million, while Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp acquired six small IT services companies that were part of Germany’s C1 Group for an undisclosed sum.

Commenting on the trend, deal tracking firm Mergermarket’s global head of technology, Pamela Barbaglia, said: “EU targets would help Indian companies enhance their R&D, sales and after-sales capabilities. In addition, top tier companies would benefit from a deeper EU presence, which would reduce their dependency on the US.”

Ms Barbaglia further said that “Tata’s recent purchase of France-based Alti on April 8 could be the prelude to a long-awaited European acquisition spree.”

According to leading assurance, tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton India partner of transaction advisory services, Raja Lahiri: “For Indian IT players, US has typically been the largest IT market. However, given the overall growth pressures in the US, Indian IT players are focusing to grow non-US business, specifically Europe business”.

Source – PTI

Indiens största bank, State Bank of India (SBI), har meddelat att man kommer att öppna en filial i Kina, som en del av sin utländska expansion.

Banken har idag 1,200 kontor i Indien och kommer att öppna åtta nya kontor utomlands, bland annat i Kina, Storbritannien, Bangladesh, Nederländerna, Sydkorea och Sri Lanka.

Vart i Kina det nya kontoret ska ligga meddelas framöver.

Agra is the most popular tourist destination in India. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the world renowned 'Taj Mahal', is located here.

It is very close to the country capital Delhi. Agra is not only famous for its historical places, but also for its rich art and culture.

Tourism is the major contributor to the economy of the city. Apart from Taj Mahal there are other famous destinations such as Fatehpur Sikri and Agra Fort, all belonging to the Mughal era. It also has the soor sarovar bird sanctuary and other tourist places such as Itmad-ud-Daulah and Sikandara.

Thus, tourism is the major sector to invest in for foreign investors. The FDI in this sector is 100% through the automatic route and there are no hassles involved. Also, as this sector is ever evolving the growth prospects are great.

Agra is also known for its magnificent handicrafts.  Brass wear and carpets from Agra are renowned all over. Carpets of good quality and variety are available here. It is also renowned for its jewelry and exquisite zari and embroidery works. These works are most sought after worldwide, hence this is one sector that offers lots of scope and promise for investors.

Agra also has many garment and apparel manufacturers which undertake exports.

There are also many wholesale industries and manufacturers in Agra which cater to a vast market. Thus, the garment production and export industry is a viable option of investment for foreign investors.

The automobile industry is also an important sector in Agra. Many major players in this field have set up operations in Agra. This sector is growing tremendously in India. Also, as many foreign automobile players are setting up their shops in India, this industry is set to grow a lot and offers good investment potential. 

The leather industry is also another sector. Agra has some of the head manufacturers and exporters in this field. The footwear industry is also a growing field in this sector. Exports are also a thriving sector in the leather industry. There are thus plenty of options for foreign investment in this area.

As a result of growth and expansion this city is engaging more in the development of its existing infrastructure. 100% FDI investment is permissible in this sector. Transport avenues such as roads and rail are also being spruced up. All this presents a good opportunity for foreign players to foray in this sector. Their expertise will be an added advantage for these players to be chosen. Hence, this is a great opportunity for foreign investment.

The government has also taken initiatives to encourage FDI (foreign direct investment) in India. The FDI norms have been eased in all sectors to facilitate foreign investment. Thus, it is easier for foreigners to invest money in India now than it was earlier.

Agra is thus a very good investment option for foreign investors. Tourism is the major grosser, but other industries are also catching up and offering great potential for foreign investment.

En toppmodern kompressorfabrik nära Pune, Indien har slagit upp dörrarna.

De 19 000 kvadratmeter stora byggnaderna inkluderar en produktionsanläggning och ett tekniskt center.

Fabriken är byggd i enlighet med LEED (Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design.) Den bidrar till Atlas Copcos mål att minska koldioxidutsläpp med minst 20 procent till 2020.

Kina är fortfarande tvåa efter Indien som världens största guld köpare trots att experterna trodde att Kina skulle ta hand om första platsen, men en kraftig inbromsning Q3 2012 stoppade tronskiftet.

Men skillnaden minskar snabbt mellan de två länderna, under 2011 var skillnaden 206,5 ton och under 2012 skilde de endast 88 ton, då den indiska guldkonsumtionen nådde 864 ton mot 776 ton i Kina.

Scania takes the next step in India with the introduction of Scania buses and coaches, with full parts and service support via the worldwide Scania service network.

The Scania Metrolink is a purpose-designed coach for luxury intercity or charter travel in head-turning style.

The Scania Metrolink introduces a new level of performance, driveability and handling in the Indian market, all based on renowned Scania virtues such as robust design, maximum passenger safety, leading fuel economy and a long and trouble-free service life.

Says Mr. Anders Grundströmer, Managing Director Scania Commercial Vehicle India and Senior Vice President Scania Group.

“It is with great pride that Scania makes India the first market worldwide to enjoy the benefits of the Scania Metrolink, a new range of intercity coaches, with a distinct Scania character, bristling with state-of-the-art technology. Scania has been at the forefront, developing new coach concepts and technologies during more than a century. It gives us great pleasure to now bring the world-renowned Scania buses and coaches to India. Our products are known for their outstanding fuel economy and high uptime, and ensuring low operating costs. “Scania Metrolink is a premium product that is completely in line with Scania's mission to be a trusted partner for the transportation industry in India.”

Offered in three models, the Scania Metrolink is styled to stand out as a premium product, featuring the established Scania ‘wrapping T’ styling motif that sweeps from the front into the window line along the sides. First deliveries to customers will take place in mid-2013 and assembly of complete coaches will start at Scania's new facility in Bengaluru in early 2014.

India is second only to China in terms of steel production. In the last 5 years India’s production grew by 33 percent, thus making it behind China among the top 5 steel producing nation.

World Steel Association (WSA) data has revealed that China’s production grew by 39 per cent during 2008-2012, India’s by 33 percent and India’s production grew constantly in the last five years from 57.8 MT in 2008 to 63.5 MT in 2009, 69 MT in 2010, 73.6 MT in 2011 and 76.7 MT in 2012,

China, which produces nearly half of world’s steel, had output of 512.3 MT in 2008, 577.1 MT in 2009, 638.7 MT in 2010, 694.8 MT in 2011 and 716.5 MT in 2012. World’s steel production grew to 1,548 MT in 2012, up from 1,341 MT in 2008, recording a growth of 15 per cent.

Russia, which holds the fifth rank in the world order of steel production in 2012, had clocked a mere three per cent growth in output during the last five years.

In 2008, it had produced 68.5 MT and in 2012, it stood at 70.6 MT.

Japan and the US, which occupy the second and third ranks respectively since 2010, have, in fact, produced less steel in 2012 than what they had produced in 2008.

Japan’s production fell to 107.2 MT in 2012 from 118.7 MT in 2008. Similarly, production in the US slipped to 88.6 MT in 2012 from 91.4 MT, the WSA data revealed.

Source – PTI

Revisions- och konsultföretaget Grant Thornton har i en stor internationell undersökning kartlagt hur länge företag i 44 länder i snitt får vänta innan deras fakturor blir betalda. Resultaten visar på stora geografiska och även branschvisa skillnader.

Svenska företag ska få snabbare betalt, efter att oppositionen vunnit omröstningen i riksdagen och tvingat regeringen till att utreda hur 30 dagars betalningstid ska kunna införas.

I Sverige väntar företagen i snitt 40 dagar på betalning. I våra nordiska grannländer får företagen snabbare betalt. Det finns alltså ingen anledning att tro att ett skärpt svenskt kvav på snabbare betalning skulle utmärka sig på ett extremt sätt internationellt.

• Sverige  40 dagar
• Danmark  36 dagar
• Norge   32 dagar
• Finland   31 dagar

Väntar längst…

• Grekland  85 dagar
• Spanien   75 dagar
• Italien   69 dagar
• Turkiet  62 dagar
• Taiwan   58 dagar

Får snabbast betalt…

• Georgien  18 dagar
• Estland  25 dagar
• Armenien  25 dagar
• Indien  27 dagar
• Lettland  27 dagar
• Kina   28 dagar
• Vietnam  28 dagar

Andra stora industrinationer

• USA  34 dagar
• Tyskland   32 dagar
• Ryssland   39 dagar
• Kanada   39 dagar

Branschskillnader

Vid en närmare analys av de svenska undersökta företagen utmärker sig tillverkningsindustrin med långa betalningstider. Snittiden inom denna bransch är hela 52 dagar, jämfört med Sverigesnittet på 40 dagar.

Om Grant Thornton-undersökningen

Grant Thornton genomför sin så kallade International Business Report för 21:a året i följd. Undersökningen med företagsledare genomförs numera kvartalsvis och årligen intervjuas över 12000 personer. De resultat som nu presenteras baserar sig på intervjuer primärt genomförda per telefon under november-december 2012, då 3200 företagsledare intervjuades. För första gången i undersökningen ingår denna gång även Norge och de baltiska staterna. I Sverige har 450 medelstora företag mellan 50-500 anställda intervjuats. Undersökningsföretaget Experian genomför intervjuerna och datasammanställningen för Grant Thornton.

Den finländska mobiljätten Nokia misstänks för skattefusk i Indien.

Där tror skattemyndigheten att Nokia vid en av sina största fabriker i Chennai har undanhållit motsvarande 3,5 miljarder i skatt.

Nearly 40 billion euro transferred by migrants to their country of origin in 2011.

Read more at Eurostat

50 European companies participated in the four Flagship Missions of the European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC) held in November and December in India.

The Missions consisted of fully packed programmes, including site visits, business-to-business meetings and high-level networking with government officials.

New business deals were signed through reinforced understanding of challenges and opportunities in the Indian market and strengthened contacts between EU and Indian counterparts.

Out of the 176 countries, this year Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has ranked India at 94th position.

The international transparency committee has said that it has devised new parameters to check the level of corruption in a nation against the method they used last year.

As Transparency International is evaluating the positions through a different formula beginning this year and hence this cannot be compared to last year’s ranking.

India was ranked at 95th position last year. a “slight improvement” in the index.

On a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean) , India has a score of 36, which is a result based on an average of 10 studies including World Bank’s Country Performance and Institutional Assessment and Global Insight Country Risk Ratings.

India was ranked 72 among 180 countries for the first time in 2007 and since then the country’s rankings have been showing a decline. While India was placed at 87 in 2010, the position was 95 in 2011.

If we talk about the neighbouring countries Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh fared much worse than India when it came to corruption in public sector undertakings. Sri Lanka and China are ranked 79 and 80 respectively.

Denmark is placed at the top spot with a score of 90 while Finland and New Zealand follow very closely. Countries that occupy the bottom ranks in the index are Myanmar, Sudan Afghanistan, Somalia and North Korea.

Source – Agencies

Den 26 november 2012, har Sverige och Indien tecknat ett socialförsäkringsavtal som gör det lättare för svenskar att arbeta i Indien och för indier att arbeta i Sverige. Liknande förhandlingar sker med Japan, Kina och Sydkorea.

Avtalet samordnar de indiska och svenska allmänna systemen för ålder-, efterlevande- och förtidspension. Det styr om en person ska vara försäkrad i Indien eller Sverige. Därmed undviks att personen går miste om intjänade rättigheter och att socialavgifter betalas i båda länderna.

Avtalet är viktigt eftersom ett drygt hundratal svenska företag finns etablerade i Indien. Fler för varje år. Sverige har likande avtal med ett tiotal länder (Bosnien-Hercegovina, Chile, Israel, Kanada, Kap Verde, Kroatien, Marocko, Serbien och Turkiet och USA).

Enligt avtalet kan arbetstagare sändas ut från hemlandet för att under högst två år arbeta för företagets räkning i det andra landet (kan förlängas med ytterligare två år). Personen är då fortsatt försäkrad i sitt hemland för ålders-, efterlevande och förtidspension och betalar där socialavgifter för dessa försäkringsgrenar.

Ca 500 svenskar bedöms vara bosatta i Indien. Ca 160 svenska företag finns registrerade i Indien. Till detta kommer ca 1 000 svenska företag som gör affärer i och med landet.

Ca 8 000 med indiskt medborgarskap bor i Sverige, ca 20 000 personer med indiskt ursprung.

Indierna utgör största gruppen efter thailändarna som får arbets- och uppehållstillstånd i Sverige. Arbetskraften från Indien finns främst i IT-och de tekniska sektorerna.

India today exuded confidence of achieving the USD 100-billion bilateral trade target set with China by 2015 and hoped the issue of New Delhi’s widening trade deficit with Beijing will be addressed.

“The target of USD 100-billion bilateral trade would not be difficult to achieve by 2015,” Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Asit Tripathy said.

He said both nations should strive to attain a sustainable balanced trade, which is currently in favour of China.

Tripathy was speaking at the inauguration of the “India Show” in Beijing, where more than 80 Indian automobile companies are participating.

The exhibition is being organised by CII in association with Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Indian Embassy in Beijing at the China International Auto parts Expo, which is in progress, CII said in a statement.

Besides, CII has sent a 19-member business delegation to China to discuss ways to strengthen trade and investment ties between the two countries.

In 2011-12, the bilateral trade between the two countries stood at USD 75.45 billion. While India’s exports were at USD 17.90 billion, imports stood at USD 57.55 billion. Thus, the trade deficit between the two nations stood at USD 39.65 billion in favour of China.

Indian Ambassador to China, S Jaishankar, said the economic cooperation between India and China in the last decade has been a remarkable story.

“While this is heartening, it has posed its own challenges in terms of a trade deficit, which is difficult to sustain or to defend. Market access for Indian companies (in China) is a major concern…,” he said.

Also, he said, a number of Chinese auto manufacturers are contemplating projects in India.

CII President Designate S Gopalakrishnan said Indian companies, operating in areas like manufacturing and IT, are also investing in China.

He added that more than 200 Indian companies are currently present in China. These companies apart from tapping the domestic market have been using China as their base to produce for other markets.  

Source – Financial Express

Under branschmässan Green Building Congress 30-31 okt i Hyderabad och efterföljande Innovation Week i New Delhi hjälper Annie Lööf svenska miljöteknik företag att lyckas i Indien.

”Behovet av nya lösningar inom energisektorn är enorma”, säger S Raghupathy, chef på indiska industriernas branschorganisation, CII som nyligen träffade Johan Sandberg och Joakim Byström från Absolicon.

Absolicon Solar Concentrator är ett av fyra svenska företag som anslutit sig till nystartade Indo-Swedish innovation plattform. Projektet finansieras av svenska Energimyndigheten och har som mål att koppla samman svenska miljöteknikföretag med indiska företag, främst inom industrisektorn.

Energimyndigheten och Annie Lööf hjälper företagen att få kontakter med indiska företag först under Green Building Congress  i Hyderabad 30-31 okt och sedan på Innovation week i New Delhi.

Absolicon planerar att bygga en fabrik i Indien och har redan installerat på ett indiskt sjukhus. Demoanläggningen producerar värme, el och ånga.

”Koncentrerad solenergi kan ge den indiska industrin möjligheten att själva producera den energi de behöver, istället för att köpa olja och gas”, säger Johan Sandberg, vd för Absolicon.

Beroendet av fossila bränslen är ett stort hinder för tillväxt i Indien. Flera statliga program har skapats för att främja energieffektivitet och förnybara energitekniker. Den officiella lanseringen av Indo-Swedish innovation platform ägde rum under Energy Efficiency Summit i Hyderabad den 24 augusti. Ett samförståndsavtal undertecknades med den indiska partnern, Confederation of Indian Industry, CII.

CII är en rikstäckande och högt respekterad branschorganisation i alla indiska regioner. Det är en icke-statlig, icke-vinstdrivande organisation som samarbetar med regeringen för att skapa en grönare tillväxt i Indien. Den närmaste partnern är Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre i Hyderabad. Centret är en institution som på nationell nivå fastställer normer och praxis i miljöteknik inom industrin och byggnader, bland annat genom en indisk certifiering för gröna byggnader.

Genom att koncentrera solens strålar kan Absolicon Solar Concentrator AB unika solfångare generera både el och värme samtidigt. Det svenska företaget är världsledande inom sin bransch och installerar solenergisystem i hela världen. De mångfalt prisbelönta solfångarna följer solen under dagen och kan förse större byggnader, industrier och fjärrvärmenät med en stor andel av energibehovet.