Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on Monday invited Taiwanese firms to invest in agriculture and food processing initiatives in the state, promising all possible assistance and cooperation.
Sukhbir, in an interaction with a Taiwanese delegation, assured all possible support to the firms of Taiwan in setting up joint ventures, especially in food processing sector.
The Taiwanese delegation was led by Philip Wen-Chyi a former Ambassador of Taiwan in India. Sukhbir said that Punjab government would set up two mega food processing parks at Sirhind and Fazilka.
Stressing that food processing sector has the biggest scope for expansion, he said that Punjab government in its Agro Industrial and Food Processing Policy, 2013, had announced huge incentives for projects worth `1 crore to `100 crore.
Sukhbir claimed that it was for the first time in the country that any state has given VAT and CST exemption up to 90 per cent, whereas there would be no property tax, stamp duty on the land used for these units. There would be full incentive on electricity duty for a period of 10 years, he added.
Philip Wen-Chyi said that Taiwan companies were mainly investing in China and ASEAN countries, but now they have turned their focus to India, especially Punjab. “Our main target for investment is agriculture and food processing sectors,” he said.