Chinese firms eye big potential in India: Official media

[SR-91]

BEIJING: Chinese firms are eying India's fast growing market despite their frustrating experience over slow clearances of projects and visa problems for its workers, China's official media claimed today.


Li Jian, secretary-general of the New Delhi-based Chindia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents over 110 Chinese firms in India, said not all Chinese companies are now doing very well in India at the moment, but many of them have decided to hold on because of India's huge growth potential.

"They have encountered a lot of problems, but most of them won't go back home easily because they believe things will get a lot better along with India's development," Li told state-run China Daily which carried news feature highlighting travails faced by Chinese firms in India.

The Chinese and Indian economies are highly complementary, Li said, but at the moment, the two countries' relationship problems are hindering economic cooperation.

According to the data, Chinese firms at present were involved in about USD 66 billion worth of construction projects in India. The bilateral trade last year touched over USD 66 billion.

The trade volumes and Chinese investments in India were expected to pick up following recent visit of Premier Li Keqiang to New Delhi. 57-year-old Li visited India last month on his maiden foreign trip since becoming Premier in March.

"Although Chinese investors have complained about their sometimes frustrating experiences in India, they hope for a bright future for their investments in one of the fastest-growing markets with huge potential," the report said.

Lu Yuanqiang, in-charge of the Indian business of Chinese constructor Shanghai Urban Construction Group Corp (SUCG) which won a contract to build part of the tunnel for a new 9.37-km subway in New Delhi, said his project is stuck over requisite permissions.

SUCG partnered with Larson & Toubro Ltd in India. As the main builder of Shanghai's 439-km subway network, consisting of 12 lines and 288 stations, and also as one of the main contractors for subway tunnels in Singapore, SUCG is "perfectly capable" of handling the work in New Delhi, but the project has been halted for three months over issues other than technology and capability, Lu said.

The problem is a railway line that crosses the tunnel above ground. SUCG needs approval from Indian railway authorities to drill under the railway line because of concern that tunnelling might sink the railway track.

The railway authorities have withheld approval although the subway line is a government project and the tunnelling poses "absolutely no risk" to the railway, Lu said.

"Millions will be lost if the construction fails to be finished on time, but there is little that SUCG can do. Why Indian railway authorities refuse to give their approval is a mystery to SUCG," the report said.

Lu said the problem that plagues the work included the issue relating to visas. He said it is "extremely difficult" for SUCG's Chinese employees to get work visas in India.

Chinese firms eye big potential in India: Official media - The Economic Times

 

[Echo_419]

Damn thou red tape
Hope things will improve in the future

 

[Genesis]

Chinese firms in India is a great combination, while India still has the labour market, we can open factories in India to replace Chinese factories.

With our declining working age work force, higher education of work force, higher wage demands, social welfare demands and this and that, China's role as the world's manufacturing plant no longer seems viable.

It is advantages for India to get Chinese expertise in this field as we have all the experience and it is beneficial to Chinese businessmen to have a good place for investment.


But i will say this, corruption is fine, as long as it's not too much and not delaying work. In india it seems there is corruption and slow bureaucracy, and uncompromising, which to me seems contradictory.

 

[Nisha]

BS corruption is never fine. Someone always gets hurt due to it. A nation's security gets compromised because of corruption. Thinking that it is fine, is big NO NO. Its easy for Chinese to say so, they have indoctrinated their ppl in camps to think a specific way which enabled them to still perfom regardless of corruption. China and India working together is great on paper but the ground realities are far from it. Aiding Pakistan is a constant threat to India as well as border issues. Corruption, slow bureaucracy, etc will only aid Chinese companies to dump their crap in India which has very little environmental laws and planning. It would be nightmare. Instead of fighting with a military, China will use it businessmen to hurt India. Just imagine a 1000 Bhopals.



To this day, like Bill Gates has stated, don't properly plan the building of our cities. Wtf is wrong with us.? Don;t we know better? What is stopping such proper development? Our developers can build a building but our f-king govt cannot plan to place the necessary proper infrastructure to ensure long term growth. Like I said before, lack of strategic sense.

 

[SirHatesALot]

BS corruption is never fine. Someone always gets hurt due to it. A nation's security gets compromised because of corruption. Thinking that it is fine, is big NO NO. Its easy for Chinese to say so, they have indoctrinated their ppl in camps to think a specific way which enabled them to still perfom regardless of corruption. China and India working together is great on paper but the ground realities are far from it. Aiding Pakistan is a constant threat to India as well as border issues. Corruption, slow bureaucracy, etc will only aid Chinese companies to dump their crap in India which has very little environmental laws and planning. It would be nightmare. Instead of fighting with a military, China will use it businessmen to hurt India. Just imagine a 1000 Bhopals.



To this day, like Bill Gates has stated, don't properly plan the building of our cities. Wtf is wrong with us.? Don;t we know better? What is stopping such proper development? Our developers can build a building but our f-king govt cannot plan to place the necessary proper infrastructure to ensure long term growth. Like I said before, lack of strategic sense.

you cannot fully eradicate corruption maybe lower it & Chinese investment in India is a very welcoming aspect.

 

[Ayush]

good news..

 

[Jade]

What is this Chindia Chamber of Commerce and Industry? Cannot they name it as China-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

On topic...good for both China and India.

However Chinese firms will find India a totally different terrain when compared to back home. Chinese firms have to learn to leave with bureaucratic clearances and other legal issue that are absent back home

 

[Nisha]

you cannot fully eradicate corruption maybe lower it & Chinese investment in India is a very welcoming aspect.

Yes you can eradicate corruption if you are motivated to do so. Take a page from Norway. To prevent future incidents of corruption, enforce and pass proper laws in the first place. Lok Pal exposed why our gov't is so fuked up. It showed there are no rules/laws to stop basic corruption. That is a fact.

Chinese investment in India should only be welcomed if and only other issues are resolved. Secondly, our govt babus listen to corporate honchos over their Intel and Security Agencies. China would have a field day....f-king us over. Unless, we are prepared in mulitple areas, opening our economy up to China could potentially f-k us in the long run. Look at the US. The major issue slowing down the Indian economy is not so much the recession as it is the corrupt, inefficient bureaucracy.


So, I completely reject and disagree with your statement.




LET CHINA AND INDIA RESOLVE BORDER AND OTHER ISSUES FIRST AND FOREMOST. THEN ALLOW INVESTMENT ON OTHER FRONTS. BE STRONG AND DON;T GIVE IN TOO EASILY. THE BALL IS IN OUR COURT AS WE ARE BECOMING A PRIME MARKET. SECONDLY, MAKE SURE SECURITY IS IN PLACE TO MONITOR SPYING SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE. KEEP THEM OUT OF CORE AREAS OF CONCERN THAT AFFECT NATIONAL SECURITY.