 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the Indian community at a reception in Shanghai on Saturday. Photo: PTI")
Leading companies from India and China on Saturday signed 26 deals here, worth $22 billion. Among the Indian firms that signed the deals were Adani Group, Bharti Airtel and Welspun. The agreements spanned a range of sectors, including renewable energy, power, steel, and small and medium enterprises.
Among the major agreements was Bharti’s tie-up for a credit facility of $2.5 billion with China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Adani Group signed an agreement with Golden Concord Holdings to establish an integrated photovoltaic (PV) industrial park in the Mundra special economic zone and to explore investment in gas-based power generation and the natural gas sector.
In another pact, Adani Ports & SEZ and Guangzhou Port Authority agreed to establish a “sister port relationship” between the Mundra and Guangzhou ports. Welspun Energy entered into a memorandum of understanding with Trina Solar of China to jointly set up a PV industry park for the production of 500 Mw of PV cell and 500 Mw of PV solar module in India.
“(These) are a reflection of the strong interest of Chinese companies to invest in India and contribute towards the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” said an official statement. It added the agreements would also facilitate cooperation between Indian and Chinese companies in the film and entertainment sector and “help make more Chinese friends/audiences aware of India’s strength in this area”.
Among those that signed agreements on Saturday were IL&FS and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC); IL&FS Energy Development Co and China Huaneng Group (for the 4,000-Mw Nana Layja thermal power project); and Jindal Steel and Power and ICBC.
While Infosys entered into an agreement to build a ‘China-India Information Service Industry Corridor’ in China’s Qinnan district, Bhushan Power and Steel signed a pact with China National Technical Import and Export Corporation for an integrated steel project in Gujarat.
“This is a historic opportunity for Chinese companies,” Modi said, addressing the India-China Business Forum here, after interacting with 22 chief executives of top Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma.
“We have committed ourselves to creating and improving the business environment. I can assure you once you decide to be in India, we are confident we will make you more and more comfortable," the PM said.
“India is ready for business. You must be sensing the winds of change in India. I only advise you to come and feel the same,” he told business heads from both countries. “You are the factory of the world, while we are the back office of the world. You give thrust on production of hardware, while India focuses on software and services,” he said.
Modi assured Chinese businessmen India's economic environment had changed. “Our regulatory regime is much more transparent, responsive and stable. We are taking a long-term and futuristic view on issues," he said, adding a lot of efforts were underway to improve the ease of doing business.
Noting that both countries had to tackle poverty, he said, “I am personally committed to take the cooperative process forward. That is why even as chief minister of Gujarat, I visited China. As prime minister, too, I am convinced and committed to exchange and cooperation for the socio-economic development of the two countries."
"We are very keen to develop the sectors in which China is strong. We need your involvement. The scope and potential, the breadth and length of infrastructure and related developments is very huge in India," he said. The PM added India wanted to promote manufacturing in a big way, especially as this would create jobs for youth, who accounted for 65 per cent of the population. "Therefore, we want to make things in India. For this, we have launched a campaign called 'Make in India'...We have to learn from you about the development of labour-intensive industries, creating conditions for sustainable foreign direct investment, skill development, infrastructure creation and the export-led development model.
