Taiwanese businesses are exploring opportunities in the Indian domestic market as 180 companies, including five Indian firms, showcase their products at 240 booths at this year’s TAITRONICS India.
This represents growth of nearly 130 percent and 116 percent respectively in the number of exhibitors and booths, compared with last year’s show, organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said yesterday after opening the three-day trade show in Chennai, India.
By noon, around 450 corporate visitors and buyers had visited the business-to-business industrial trade show, it added.
Some US$100 million in deals could be closed at the show to add to the annual trade volume between Taiwan and India worth US$620 million, Ong Wenchyi (翁文祺), Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) representative in New Delhi, said on the sidelines of the trade show yesterday.
“Growth potential [for Taiwanese businesses] could rocket in coming years,” he said. “The Indian market has shown no signs of contracting in the next decade.”
Electronic machinery, public infrastructure and agricultural reprocessing businesses stand a better chance of benefiting from the growth in the Indian domestic market, Ong added.
The de facto ambassador also boasts the fine quality of Taiwanese machine parts at a price 10 percent lower than those of Japanese or German competitors.
Bilateral trade between Taiwan and India has expanded substantially since 2007, when an investment protection agreement was inked to provide protection and official assistance to businesses from both countries. Meanwhile, a double-taxation relief agreement is under negotiation and likely to receive approval from the two sides by early next year, Ong said.
M. F. Farooqui, principal secretary of the industries department in the government of Tamil Nadu, urged Taiwanese businesses to join South Korean and Japanese counterparts in establishing a presence in India.
To facilitate Taiwanese business, he told the trade show’s opening ceremony that his government is prepared to provide between 100 hectares and 150 hectares of land as an industrial park for Taiwanese companies.
“I assure you a responsive and transparent government,” he said.
Unfamiliar with the Indian market, first-time exhibitors from Taiwan yesterday said that they need to run more feasibility studies before committing to it.
Sijhih (汐止), Taipei County-based Zeeman Industry Co (錦慈企業) yesterday said that if the fuse-making company can attract business from Indian auto part distributors supplying big brand manufacturers such as Hyundai Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp, it would set up a factory in India soon, company general manager James Cheng (鄭金池) told the Taipei Times yesterday.
“[My] initial investment here may exceed US$3 million,” he said.
Executives from tube-maker Chi Bin Machine Co (奇賓機械) and niche computer manufacturer Twinhead International Corp (倫飛電腦), said that they hope to locate Indian buyers for export business.
To Indian buyers, however, pricing could be a concern although most of them agreed that Taiwan-made products are of better quality than locally manufactured equivalents.
C. Naveen Kumar, purchasing manager of Dynamic Research Systems, said that he found Taiwanese IT networking products are “20 percent more expensive than he expected.”
He added a solution will need to be found for the pricing concerns before local buyers would place orders.
A. Stephenraj, business development manager of Pee Pee Appliance Private Ltd, said his company is searching for advanced consumer electronic products such as LCD TVs or handsets to cater to local customers.
If Taiwan-made products meet requirements, pricing could be less of a concern, he added.
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