Japan and India have traditionally been allies. But its foothold in India became firmer after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi brought in Suzuki to bail out her son’s non-starter Maruti.
The success of this venture made it Suzuki’s biggest profit centre worldwide. Along with it came auto-ancillary manufacturers, and other automobile players. Then came a host of companies – ranging from chemicals, pharmaceuticals, telecom, power and construction. It is now planning to set up high-speed trains in India.
Japan-India relations got the attention of Indian population when Japan offered to finance India for all its mega projects – the dedicated freight corridor (DFC), the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and the bullet train network.
But that does not ensure that everything is great for Japanese investors and firms in India. To understand the challenges in the Indian market for investments, The Free Press Journal-SIES in association with Invest India is organising ‘Financing India’ webinar series. Japan is the focus country for the upcoming panel discussion.
The panellists for the session are (in alphabetical order): Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director – Sales & Marketing, HMSI; Harjot Singh Narang, President, Dentsu One; and Sanjay Panda, Managing Director, IJ Kakehashi Services. The session, which will be moderated by R N Bhaskar, Consulting Editor, Free Press Journal, will be held on November 5 at 3 pm. The opening remarks will be delivered by Vaneeta Raney, head of BMM, SIES.
Click here to register.
For the past decade, India is the largest recipient of Japanese funds. During April 2000- June 2020, in terms of cumulative inflows, India attracted USD 33.9 billion from Japan. During this period, Japan was the fourth largest source of FDI in India. FDI has gone into sectors like automobile, electrical equipment, telecommunications, chemical, financial (insurance) and pharmaceutical sectors in India.
While India turns to Japan for investment and technology, Japan looks at India as it is a growing market offering better rates of interests and human resources. According to MEA data, Japan’s bilateral trade with India totalled USD 17.63 billion in FY 2018-19.
There are around 1,441 Japanese companies in India as per the 2018 joint survey by the Embassy of Japan in India and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
