The Hindu Business Line : Vietnam, Pennsylvania woo Indian investors

Vietnam and the State of Pennsylvania on Thursday brought about contrasting approaches in making out a case for investments from Indian entrepreneurs in diverse sectors such as oil and gas, power, steel, with information technology being the common focus area.

ONGC, Ranbaxy and Godrej among others are already investing in Vietnam and the Tatas, Ispat, Essar and Reliance are also knocking at the door.

The Vietnamese Ambassador, Mr Vu Quang Diem, said after 20 years of implementation of the renewal policy, Vietnam has recorded remarkable achievements that are reflected in its buoyant economy. While 2005 witnessed a GDP growth rate of 8.12 per cent, during 2001-2005, the growth was about 7.5 per cent.

The external economic factor played a vital role in the economic growth. During the last 10 months in 2006, Vietnam exports grew 24.2 per cent to $32.2 billion and the total trade volume is set to touch $90 billion.

While Vietnam continues to reform, attracting FDI of nearly $60 billion, he said there is huge potential for investments in the areas of oil and gas, power, steel and significantly IT, where India has a big presence.

The Secretary, Community and Economic Development, Pennsylvania, Mr Dennis Yablonsky, said Pennsylvania, which has a GDP of $480 billion, is backed by excellent infrastructure and offers immense scope for Indian companies to locate their projects in the areas of drug and pharma research, and significantly IT.

Speaking at the Export and Import Excellence meet hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr Yablonsky said that inward investments to Pennsylvania have gone up over the years and of them there is a large contingent of Indian IT companies which include TCS, Applabs, iGate, Prithvi, NIIT and Billcare.

The State of Pennsylvaniahas four international airports. Its exports to India have increased two-fold to $214 million and has potential to go up significantly.

The Third Edition of EXIM was hosted here to explore the potential of cooperation in varied sectors, including infrastructure and financial services areas.