Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Apr 18, 2006 |
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Industry & Economy - Steel Chinese steel cos exploring opportunities in India Richa Mishra
CLOSER TIES: (From left) Mr S.K. Poddar, President, FICCI; Mr Wan Jifei, Chiarman, CCPIT; Mr Nalin Surie, Indian Ambassador to China; and Dr Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI, in Beijing on Monday. — Ramesh Sharma
Beijing , April 17 Chinese steel majors such as Bau Steel and Capital Steel are now exploring business opportunities in India and are planning to make substantial investments in this sector. Interacting with a visiting delegation of Indian industrialists and a media group, industry sources here said besides IT software, hardware and pharmaceuticals, Chinese companies in the mineral and metals sectors were already undertaking feasibility study in India. They are looking at investment as high as those committed by the South Korean steel major POSCO and L.N. Mittal-promoted Mittal Steel. Mr Liu Zhengang, chief representative China Minmetals Corporation said, "Chinese steel companies can make use of Indian iron-ore reserves and many companies are exploring investment possibilities in India. But the Indian Government should make changes in its mines and minerals policy to allow freer movement of raw materials."
Keen on retail market
Taking advantage of the visit of the FICCI-organised Indian delegation here, Chinese authorities also sought more clarity on foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in the retail sector. Stating that the open door policy had helped China in achieving the present level of growth, Mr Wang Jinzhen, Vice-Secretary General, China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), said India too could attract investments in various sectors, including real estate, retail, telecom, mines and minerals, if it followed a similar policy. Already, Gome, a Chinese electronics retail domestic major and real estate developers Guanghua Group have shown interest in tapping the Indian retail market in a big way. "If the Indian Government brings in more clarity to the FDI norms, it will help such Chinese companies to do business in India," Mr Wang said. Asked about the co-operation between the two countries in the energy sector, Mr Wang said if India, China and Pakistan co-operate, a number of issues concerning energy security in the region could be addressed. Energy security has been a crucial issue in the region and a combined India-China market will have tremendous strategic impact on energy access and control mechanism, he added. On the possibilities of more India-China joint ventures to acquire oil and gas assets overseas, Mr Wang said, "This would largely depend on the economic and strategic viability of the projects." About Chinese participation in the sixth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), Mr Wang said, "At present, I do not remember any such proposal from Chinese companies, but if it makes economic sense we may participate." Earlier, speaking at the FICCI-CCPIT CEO's summit, the FICCI Secretary-General, Dr Amit Mitra, highlighted the need for greater co-operation between India and China. He pointed out that actual FDI in India by Chinese companies stood at $0.63 million against an approved investment of $231.6 million between January 1991 and March 2004. In his inaugural address, Mr Wan Jifei, Chairman and Minister CCPIT, urged entrepreneurs of the two countries to improve the two-way trade from existing $18.7 billion to $20 billion in 2006. Mr Saroj Kumar Poddar, FICCI President, said that efforts should be to raise the bilateral trade to $50 billion in three years and $100 billion in six years. He also said that attempts should be made to encourage investments in each other's countries to at least $1 billion each in next five years.
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