Chinese Textile Companies Should Consider Investing in India

Chinese textile companies should consider investing in India, as the country offers several advantages, Ashok K Kantha, Indian Ambassador to China, has said.

Ambassador Kantha was speaking at a half-day seminar in Shanghai on “Investing in India’s Textile Sector”, organized by the Embassy of India and the Consulate General of India in Shanghai, in association with the China National Textiles and Apparel Council (CNTAC) and the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council of India (TEXPROCIL).

In his keynote speech, Ambassador Kantha highlighted the potential for expanding and diversifying textile cooperation between the two countries based on the sound foundation of bilateral textile trade turnover of more than US$ 8 billion in 2013.

He referred to the potential catalytic role of textile sector in revitalizing bilateral trade to address the overall problem of India-China trade imbalance, according to an Embassy of India press release.

Inviting Chinese textile companies to consider investing in India, Mr. Kantha said India has several advantages to offer, including “a conducive policy framework, competitive and skilled labour, proximity to raw material, and a large and growing market”.

In this context, he emphasized investment in India’s existing Textile Parks or setting up new industrial parks, as both India and China promote cluster-type development of enterprises.

Mr. Zhang Yankai, vice president of CNTAC, referred to the vibrant cooperation between the two countries in the textile sector and the opportunities to further strengthen it, including through investment by Chinese companies in India.

In his detailed presentation, TEXPROCIL chairman Manickam Ramaswami amplified on the specific value proposition offered by India. He encouraged Chinese investors to take advantage of the projected growth of Indian textile industry to $220 billion by 2020, which will generate an additional investment requirement of $68 billion across the textile supply chain.

The event was attended by several Chinese textile manufacturers and potential investors from in and around Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The seminar, which coincided with the participation of 60 Indian companies in the Inter textile Exhibition in Shanghai, was followed by a buyer-seller meet.