The Hindu Business Line : Indo-Italian chamber in Kolkata to become operations office

THE Kolkata branch of the Mumbai-headquartered Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce, re-launched recently, is soon being transformed from a representation office into a full-fledged operations set-up, to be headed by a its Regional Manager.

Making a presentation on `India-Italy business cooperation — New opportunities', at an interactive session organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BNCCI) here on Thursday, Mr Agostino Pinna, Consul General of Italy in Kolkata, said the objective behind an operations office is to promote Italian products, providing information to corporates on both sides, and also encourage investment opportunities by Italian firms in India, besides participation in product-specific trade fairs.

Priority would be given to sectors such as leather, jewellery, agri-business, fashion and information technology.

Mr Pinna said the West Bengal Government has been invited to the SMAU exhibition in Milan, counted among the most important IT fairs in Europe. The fair will be held in October.

Stating that many collaborative ventures have been taken up in fields such as environment, water purification and waste management, he said a commercial delegation from the industrial region of Lombardy is expected here in April-May.

The State Government also intends to invite the President of the region of Tuscany to visit Kolkata.

Tuscany is the leading centre for tanning industry in Italy because of the presence of the leather cluster of Santa Croce sull'Arno.

Citing India as an emerging reliable trading nation from the point of view of Italian businessmen, he said trade exchange between the two countries is now much lower than actual potential, at a little over $ 2.1 billion, even though Italy is still the fourth largest EU trading partner of India, after the UK, Germany and Belgium.

Italy accounts for four per cent of world trade and exports mainly to the EU and Eastern Europe, the US, Russia, China, Japan and South America.

India has a favourable trade balance with Italy, with exports at around $1.3 billion, while imports are pegged at $813 million in 2002-03. Italian exports to India comprise mainly machinery, besides pharmaceuticals.

Indian exports comprise mainly textiles and garments (20 per cent) and leather (10 per cent) in 2003, showing a 12 per cent increase over the previous year.

Mr Pinna places direct Italian investments in India from 1991 to 2003 at a modest $50 million, occupying 12th position at the global level.

The investments are mainly in sectors such as transport, agri-business, metallurgy and textiles. Among the principal Italian investors in India are, Fiat for automobiles, Lombardini for motors, Piaggio for motorcycles, San Marco for textiles, Luxottica for optics and Tecnimont for industrial construction.

More Stories on : Foreign Trade | Other States

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page