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From law firms to machine tools Italy is eyeing all segments for investing aggressively into smaller Indian cities.
The country, which is facing a financial crisis at the present, believes that this is the opportune moment when Italian companies can make India their manufacturing hub through greater collaboration, particularly, in the small and medium segment.
Italy is India’s second largest trading partner after Germany within the European Union (EU) with two-way merchandise trade reaching Euros 8.5 billion in FY12.
“This is a win-win situation for both of us. Our bilateral strategic relationship goes a long way. However, we have not utilised the full potential of our relationship. The figure of Euros 8.5 billion for our trade is a very poor number. We can do much better,” Daniele Mancini, ambassador of Italy to India, said here late last evening while addressing Indian SMEs.
Highlighting the investment scenario, he said India invests one-tenth of what Italy invests here. He also said that Italian law firms are interested to come here.
“Though investments from Italy to India are quite robust, others have done much better. It is not that we were sleeping, but other countries took over,” he added.
The ambassador identified some of the sectors where large-scale Italian investments can come in. Some of these are equipments, machines, nano-technology, infrastructure, renewable energy, food processing and water management among others.
“We have to do some ice-breaking on both the sides. There is a keenness in India to know Italy better. We have to stop looking only at Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai. We should look at the smaller cities and make them aware of Italy and its potential,” he added.
The event was also addressed by business chambers of some of the leading Italian provinces such as Lombardy, Salerno and Florence.
