The Hindu Business Line : Chamber plans sessions in tier-II cities

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Tamil Nadu Branch, plans to organise daylong sessions on `Doing business with USA' in tier-II cities in Tamil Nadu such as Salem, Puducherry and Tiruchi.

In the past, the Chamber has held such sessions in Madurai, Coimbatore and Tirupur. "We are seeing a lot of interest among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in tier-II cities to establish business relations with the US," said Mr R. Anand, Chairman, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, Tamil Nadu Branch. Over 70 per cent of the Chamber's 364 members are companies with a turnover of less than Rs 50 crore. These sessions would focus on overcoming business challenges for SMEs in establishing trade with the US. The US is the most preferred market for SMEs in Tamil Nadu to trade with, he said. However, India is only the 18th preferred trade destination for the US.

Etiquette session

Mr Anand said Indian SMEs had to prepare on legal, tax, marketing-related issues prior to establishing business in the US. For starters, the Chamber is organising a separate session on etiquette that will include how to make conversation with an American, corresponding through e-mail and telephone. A separate programme on preparation for Visa interviews would also be available.

The Chamber in its recent session addressed some problematic due diligence areas for companies. According to Mr Michael Kraus, Attorney, Smith, Gambrel & Russell, improper allocation of non-recurring items, excessive related party transactions and off-balance sheet items were common issues that Indian companies must regularly address while operating in the US.

Selecting a location for setting up an office, a sound marketing strategy, a well-documented insurance plan and a formal business plan that included entry and exit strategies were other areas that the session addressed. For instance, Internet marketing was suggested over conventional marketing for the US market and infrastructure requirements could be outsourced or handled through a joint venture.

More Stories on : Foreign Trade | Events | Tamil Nadu

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