Project developers, investors and overseas trade proponents – particularly in the energy, resources and infrastructure arenas – should not ignore the emerging juggernaut economy of India despite global markets’ current preoccupation with China’s slowing but nonetheless strong growth, says top tier Adelaide law firm, Finlaysons. This December, International Mining will be exhibiting at the 11th International Mining and Machinery Exhibition (IMME 2012), Kolkata, December 5 to 8. This event is organised by Confederation of Indian Industry in association with Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Coal, Government of India. Figures published over the weekend showed China’s annual growth rate at 7.6% per annum – lower than market expectations but news still welcomed by most market analysts, Finlaysons says.
In a client note ahead of a series of India-Australian trade workshops in Adelaide next week, Finlaysons – which provides legal services internationally in at least 17 overseas jurisdictions – said India was a “gateway waiting to be filled with mutually beneficial Australian trade developers and investors”.
“While India has been touted in recent years as the next new world economy to follow China’s surging capitalism, nonetheless it does tend to play second fiddle to China simply by way of that country’s massive dominance of world trade, equities markets and impacts on domestic economies which trade with it,” Finlaysons Tax and Revenue Partner, Michael Butler, said.
“Yet the business opportunities in India abound, particularly among those Indian state economies mirroring similar economic profiles and opportunities to their Australian state counterparts,” Butler said.
“These opportunities include mining and mining services, defence, building and building materials (particularly for large-scale infrastructure projects in demanding environs), education, food and beverage, and clean technology.”
Butler cited the west Indian state of Gujarat as a good example of where Australian-Indian trade relationships could be expanded in the nearer term. “Gujarat remains the fastest growing state economy in India, is one of that country’s most industrialised and has a GDP per capita above the national average,” Butler said.
“But again, while having a need for Australian investment and expertise, entry to these markets is not achieved under some generic formula but one which is tailored to the opportunities,” he said.
Finlaysons has joined as sponsor with the Australia India Business Council, Australian Centre for Asian Business and the Access India business lobby group to mount a series of hands-on workshops in Adelaide next week, aimed at assisting businesses looking to build an Australian-Indian trade gateway.