WhyIndia Business Forum was organized by the Consulate General of India (CGI) in Shanghai on 18th March 09 at the Renaissance Hongqiao. The Forum was aimed at introducing the successful business experiences of leading Chinese companies in India for potential Chinese investors looking at investing in India.

H.E. Ambassador Hua Jun Duo, Commissioner General of the Shanghai World Expo and former Ambassador of China to India from 2001-2004, delivered

the key note address. He called on business leaders from China to take advantage of the excellent investment climate in India. He emphasized that there were mutually beneficial complementarities between the industries of India and China and delineated a series of factors that offered India a competitive edge in the global economic economy.

Consul General Riva Ganguly Das in her welcome remarks highlighted that the Forum aimed at offering insights into why the India China economic engagement made for such a compelling proposition, especially against the backdrop of ongoing economic crisis, which has made it even more important for India and China to rediscover the synergies that exist between them.

The Forum was also addressed by CEO’s of leading Chinese companies with success stories in India. Mr. Qiu Ji Bao, President of the Feiyue Group and delegate to the 16th NPC, saidthat the Indian experience had made their company globally competitive and no Chinese company aspiring to be truly global could afford to ignore the Indian market. Mr. Yao Wei Min, Senior Vice President of Huawei Technologies (India) in his remarks outlined the ‘going local’ strategy adopted by Huawei India, and said that it was critical to the success of any company’s operations in India. Mr. Bai Yun, Vice President of the Shanghai Urban Construction Group (SUCG) highlighted how SUCG, had succeeded in the Indian market by partnering with leading Indian companies including L&T as joint venture. SUCG is in the process of completing the prestigious Delhi Metro Tunneling Project.

To mark the occasion, the latest version of the Foreign Direct InvestmentManual in Chinese was jointly released by H.E. Ambassador Hua Jun Duo and Consul General Riva Ganguly Das. This would serve as a handy reference guide for Chinese companies looking at investing in India. India’s national carrier, AIR INDIA contributed with a complementary return ticket for the Chinese delegates through a lucky draw.

The Forum was attended by representatives of more than 70 Chinese companies from the Eastern China region, who are interested at investing in India either through setting up representative offices or as JV agreements. Besides senior officials of regional CCPIT’s, Foreign Trade Bureau’s and members of regional trading associations, the event was attended by representatives from Shanghai Electric, ZTE, Zhejiang SUPCON, Baosteel, China Eastern Airlines, Sinosteel, Gemsy Holdings & Feiyue Group. Select members of the local media also covered the Business Forum. 

18 March 2009