Investment in India: aktuelle Bestandsaufnahme
Interview mit Mike D. Batra, Geschäftsführer der Bochumer Indien-Beratung Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH, über Investments in Indien.
Eine aktuelle Bestandsaufnahme – veröffentlicht in der Juni Ausgabe des Indien Newsletter (Volume III, Issue VIII) des Indischen Generalkonsulats in Frankfurt
How has been your experience in India so far and what are your future plans in India?
Mike D. Batra
We have been present in India since the year 2004 and since then have advised around 180 German companies – most of them belonging to the “Mittelstand” – in their India projects as well as in implementing their sales, purchasing or production activities on the ground in India. We have been continuously growing over the years and have currently 55 employees, with our Indian offices located in Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Gurgaon, and are planning to expand our presence further.
What are the three areas where you would like to see improvements to facilitate Ease of Doing Business?
While there has been some progress in the recent years with regard to the ease of doing business, we would like to see further improvements in these three areas:
1) simplifying and clarifying the company formation process for foreign investors as well as banking matters such as account opening,
2) solving the issue of Service Tax being an added cost to German companies, as well as
3) issuing of long-term visas for German business visitors also if their companies have no Indian subsidiary in which they act as a Director.
Investment Chancen in Indien
In your opinion, what are the promising sectors for Investment in India?
Many of our clients belong to the Machinery and Electrical Engineering industries and are supplying their products to various growing sectors in India. Some of these sectors are Automotive and Railways, Renewable Energies, Construction & Housing as well as Medical and Environmental Technologies. We expect further growth in these sectors for the years to come, in which German companies can take part both through export of their products as well as value addition locally in India through their knowledge and technologies.
How do you see the Consulate’s role, here at Frankfurt in promoting India as a business destination to the German investors as well as supporting them?
The Consulate, and in particular its initiative of the IBF is providing a very useful platform for an exchange between German companies and Indian companies as well as Government officials. Frequent visits by the Consul General and his staff to India-related events and companies in the Federal States covered by the Consulate, such as to the German Indian Round Table (GIRT) Ruhrgebiet, which we are regularly organising, have given a strong support for companies and entrepreneurs in interested in doing business with India.
What is the advice you would like to give to a German who would like to invest in India?
From our experience, problems that occur after the market entry of German companies are often because of:
1) a lack of reliable market intelligence and unrealistic expectations,
2) no strategic and systematic market development on the ground in India,
3) no suitable product for the broader Indian market segment, and
4) a missing transparency regarding their ongoing activities in India.
These pitfalls are seen with companies present in India through distributors, Joint Ventures and also with their own subsidiaries, and could be avoided by more in-depth and timely preparation.
Make in India: Dr. Wamser + Batra GmbH
Das Interview und den Newletter können Sie hier einsehen: Indien Newsletter – CGI
