JEDDAH, 17 September 2003 — The Kingdom has great potential for Indian exports, according to a visiting delegation.
“Our meetings in Riyadh earlier and now in Jeddah with both their chambers of commerce and individual businessmen have been productive,” Ganesh Kumar Gupta, chairman of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, Western Region, and leader of the delegation, told a press conference after a meeting with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday. JCCI Director General Saud O. Ounallah interacted with the delegates.
“India is witnessing a process of economic liberalization. Things have become so easy that a Saudi businessman can start even a joint venture trading establishment in India with just SR8,000 with benefits including repatriation of earnings,” Gupta said. “What’s more, all government formalities for registering ventures or establishments can be concluded within seven-eight days,” said Gupta who also heads the textiles committee of the Ministry of Textiles.
The delegation, set up by the Ministry of Commerce in 1965, with its membership exceeding 10,000, is here for a three-day buyer-seller meet at the Trident Hotel before proceeding to Dammam for a similar engagement for two days from Saturday. The 50-member team arrived from Riyadh where it took part in a similar buyer-seller meet.
“The response from businessmen has been encouraging both in Riyadh and Jeddah. Delegates had received 225 inquiries in Riyadh. The morning session of the opening day in Jeddah was marked by 25 inquiries,” said Gupta, who was accompanied by FIEO Joint Director General D. Brar and V.K.V. Raman, commercial counselor at the Consulate General of India.
Gupta said while delegates were also interested in pursuing joint venture prospects in the manufacturing sector in this part of the world, business areas for investment had been identified. They include leather goods, foodstuffs, electronics, auto parts and power generation, aside from commodities and agricultural equipment.
“Business and investment laws have become liberal in India, which is trying to decontrol everything. Our meetings show similar thinking prevails here. We found even the visa procedure easy at the Saudi Consulate in Bombay,” Gupta said.
According to Gupta, overall Indian exports are estimated at $44 billion of which the Saudi-India bilateral trade accounts for $4.4 billion. Indian exports to the Kingdom are valued at $808.7 million.
A trade delegation of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry is visiting India next month.
According to Brar, key areas identified for joint ventures include IT “in which India is a major world player” and pharmaceuticals in which the country has achieved international standards. “We’re seeking diversification of food exports beyond basmati rice,” he remarked.
He mentioned the participation of Saudi companies in oil exploration projects in the Godavari Basin.
The delegation includes GMR Technologies and Industries, a public limited company, which offers a wide product range and is operating two mega power projects of 250 MW each and is in the process of setting up another natural gas based power plant of 550 MW. “We’ve done a number of projects in India and we’re here to study overseas prospects,” GMR General Manager-Finance K.V.S.N. Murthy said.
Products of Mahindra Intertrade Ltd. range from agricultural implements, tractors and auto components to diesel engines, pumps, castings, forgings, and rubber parts. “We’ve received inquiries for our tractors, agricultural implements and generators in particular. I’ll follow up by providing specifications,” Satish M. Bhat, business head exports of the company, said.
FIEO, which contributes 75 percent of the total exports of India, represents directly or indirectly over 100,000 manufacturing mercantile and service exporters across the country.
