Austria envisions doubling of bilateral commerce

Walter Koren, director general of the Austrian Trade and Federal Economic Chamber, the main trade body of Austria saw the number of Austrian companies in India doubling to some 400, in the next three years, at an interaction with the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

In that time, India will be the third largest trading partner of the European Union and Austria, Koren said. Last fiscal, bilateral trade touched 500 million euros: Austrian exports to India rose by 41 per cent and imports from India by 30 per cent in the year, he said.

Koren who led a trade delegation as part of the Austrian premier, Heinz Fischer's visit to the country, told representatives of medium sized companies here that there would be an increase in Austrian investment in India.

More Austrian firms, especially those involved in high technology work, would start operations here, he said, tapping the advantages of outsourcing, technology transfer and collaborative research and development.

S Chandrashekhar, BCIC's president, briefed visitors on the IT and biotechnology sectors here. The state was also home to firms in areas such as electronics, telecom equipment software, auto components and machine tools, he said.