Chinese firms line up for corporate assault on India

Wednesday, 04 August 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Chinese entrepreneur Wang Qi Lian likes to describe business potential for his company in neighbouring India in just one word -- enormous. On something of a reconnaissance mission for the first time to India, the 55-year-old manager of Anhui Technology Ltd., a leading maker of automobiles and auto components, is absolutely thrilled by the prospect of doing business here. "I have had talks with some of my contacts here and am very excited. India has the potential to emerge as one of the main markets for us," said Lian, who is in India as part of a 100-member business delegation. "Our motorcycles will be at least 25-40 percent cheaper than those available in India in the same category," he said, shuffling through a thick wad of business cards he had collected from prospective local business associates. "The price advantage will definitely help us garner a larger share of the market. India is the second largest two-wheelers market after China. There is no reason why we should ignore it," Lian told IANS. Lian is part of a growing contingent of Chinese entrepreneurs shedding their decades old hostile attitude towards India to start business and seek collaborations in the world's second most populous nation after their homeland. From major players like Huawei Technology and home appliances maker Haier group to the modest entrepreneur, Chinese businessmen are looking to make their fortune in India. Few are waiting for the governments in New Delhi and Beijing to deliver incentives in order to make a start. "Earlier, there was lot of ambiguity about the Indian market in the minds of Chinese entrepreneurs," said Wang Jinzhen, assistant chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). "And that was the reason behind the low level of investments by Chinese firms in this country despite the two countries being so close geographically. There was very little government support also from both sides," he said. "Now with both the governments enhancing their interaction and India emerging as a major economic power in Asia there is a greater urge among the Chinese entrepreneurs to explore the Indian market." In recent years, frequent exchanges of high-level visits between China and India have enhanced the friendship between the two countries and promoted bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee paid an official visit to China in June 2003 at the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Experts say increased business dialogues are positive steps for two nuclear-armed powers that divided by the Himalayan mountain ranges and contrasting cultures have till recently barely been on speaking terms. Trade volume between India and China stood at a meagre $260 million in 1990. This has grown to $5 billion in 2002 and $7.6 billion in 2003 on the back of a booming economy in both the countries. In the first five months of the current year, bilateral trade touched $5.45 billion and is expected to cross the target of $10 billion by end of 2004. India and China have emerged as the two fastest growing economies in the world with the gross domestic product of 8.2 percent and 9.1 percent respectively in 2003. "All the roadblocks between India and China are now being edged aside by growing economic links," said Gurpal Singh, deputy director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the host of the Chinese delegation in India. "The business-to-business relation between India and China started late but now it is certainly on a high growth path. There is lot of mutual understanding and goodwill among the corporate houses in both the countries." For Eddie Wang, vice manager of Yuntianhua United Commerce, a maker of fertilisers and chemicals, the business opportunities in India are too good to pass up. "We are pursuing deals with few Indian companies to sell chemicals and fertilisers here. We already export to other neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand," said Wang. "It doesn't make sense for us really not to be present in such a vast market."
Source: IANS
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