Modi proposes ‘Japan Week’ to celebrate business ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday underlined several steps taken for ease of doing business in India and invited Japanese industry to explore more investment opportunities here.
Underlining India’s robust economy, he said despite the slowdown in global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), India attracted record FDI of USD 84 billion in the previous financial year.
Terming this a vote of confidence in India’s economic potential, Modi invited greater participation by Japanese companies in India and proposed celebrating Japan’s contribution to India’s development journey in the form of a ‘Japan Week’.
He made this strong pitch while chairing a roundtable with Japanese business leaders in Tokyo.
Top executives and CEOs of 34 Japanese companies participated in the event. Majority of these companies have investments and operations in India.
The companies represented diverse sectors, including automobiles, electronics, semiconductors, steel, technology, trading and banking and finance.
Key business bodies and organizations from India and Japan such as Keidanren, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Japan-India Business Consultative Committee (JIBCC) and Invest India also participated in the event.
Stressing that India and Japan are natural partners, the Prime Minister lauded the business community as brand ambassadors of the immense potential of India-Japan ties.
Modi said during the visit of Prime Minister Kishida to India in March 2022, both countries had set an ambitious target of investment of Japanese Yen 5 trillion over the next 5 years.
The Prime Minister highlighted recent developments in economic ties, such as India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership (IJICP) and Clean Energy Partnership, among others. He talked about initiatives such National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, and semiconductor policy and highlighted the robust startup ecosystem of India.
The Prime Minister also held bilateral meetings with some top business leaders, including Masayoshi Son of SoftBank and Osamu Suzuki of Suzuki Motor Corp among others. He discussed opportunities in India in sectors like textiles, automobiles, emerging technologies and startups.
He first met electronic giant NEC Corporation’s Chairman Nobuhiro Endo. It was followed by another meeting with Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo’s CEO Tadashi Yanai. Thereafter, he held talks with Son and Suzuki to discuss investment opportunities.
In his meeting with Endo, Modi appreciated the NEC’s role in India’s tele-communication sector, especially in undertaking Chennai-Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI) and Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands (KLI) optical fibre cable projects, an official statement said.
He also highlighted investment opportunities under the PLI scheme. “They discussed various reforms being undertaken to enable ease of doing business in India, including in industrial development, taxation and labour. They also discussed opportunities in India in new and emerging technologies,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
On his part, Endo said the discussions ranged from ways to contribute to Smart Cities in India and NEC’s plans to contribute to the country in the field of education and logistics, among others.
Stating that Prime Minister Modi has a strong intention to build and enhance capabilities in India, Endo said, “We are very happy to contribute to those areas.”
Modi discussed the rapidly growing textile and apparel market of India and investment opportunities under the PLI scheme for textile projects during his meeting with Yanai, who is the chairman, president
and CEO of Fast Retailing Co Ltd, the parent company of Uniqlo, theMinistry statement said.
“They also discussed various reforms being undertaken to enable ease of doing business for foreign investors in India including in the areas of industrial development, infrastructure, taxation and labour,” the official statement said.
The Prime Minister also invited Uniqlo’s enhanced participation in India’s journey to becoming a manufacturing hub for textiles, particularly the use of technologies in textile manufacturing, besides asking the Japanese apparel major to take part in the “PM-Mitra” scheme aimed at further strengthening the textiles sector.
In response, Yanai said Uniqlo is exploring investments in production and retail industry in India. “We can focus on end-to-end products, i.e. from plant to design to fabric,” he said, adding the company wants to accelerate growth in India further, while noting that IT talent in the country is excellent.
Modi appreciated Softbank Corporation’s role in India’s startup sector during his meeting with Son, the founder and CEO of the Japanese
investment major. They discussed Softbank’s future participation in India in key areas such as technology, energy and finance,” the official statement said.
Son said India “growing very quickly with new startups coming everyday and unicorns coming very quickly”, is becoming the number three in the world for new startups and unicorns.
In his parleys with Suzuki, the Prime Minister recalled the veteran Japanese industry leader’s association with and contribution to India and appreciated the transformational role of Suzuki Motor Corp in the automotive industry of the country.