Because of easy availability of skilled manpower and raw materials, Italian firms now prefer India over China for sourcing their manufacturing works. Last Friday, in a seminar “Trends of cooperation between India and Italy in the mechanical sector,” the executives of Italian subsidiaries expressed this view. Organized by Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), and Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI), executives of various Italian subsidiaries were present in the seminar. I am quoting from the report published in The Hindu:
‘Bay Forge Limited director Carlo del Carretto said the situation in India was also improving. "Procurement of materials is less of a problem [now] ... infrastructure is being improved." Bay Forge, part of an Euro300 million group in Italy, had its manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district and was hopeful of its parent company making more investments in it, he added.
M. Ganesh, managing director of Bonfiglioli Transmissions, an Italian subsidiary in Tamil Nadu, said the company was impressed with the "well-educated disciplined workforce," availability of raw materials and the relatively better IPR [Intellectual Property Rights] regime. Given the strong customer base in India, it was looking for additional land to expand. The business environment had undergone a major change since the late 1990s, when the company invested in the State nervously. "Whatever is possible to achieve in Italy is possible here."
In the 90’s, because of the reforms of investment rules, many foreign companies started to invest in India. Compared to India, China is larger and has more people but Indian people are well educated and skilled in English language. These two factors made investors prefer India over China. Still, India has many shortcomings and problems. In order to keep this flow of investment intact, the government will have to overcome those short comings.
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The Hindu
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