The Hindu Business Line : Italian cos keen to invest in India

The appeal
India scores over China in communication skills, education and style of working.
Mechanical engineering was a strong sector in Italy and they can come to India to serve the global market.

Chennai , Dec. 2

Communication skills, particularly English speaking ability, apart from engineering skills topped the reasons for Italian companies choosing to invest in India rather than China.

At a meeting here on trends in the engineering sector in cooperation between Italy and India, representatives from three Italian companies that have a presence here and are planning to expand said India scored over China in communication skills, education and style of working.

At the meeting organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Carlo del Carrato, Director, Bay Forge Ltd, said that when the family-owned company of the Italy-based Fomas Group planned a overseas presence the options facing them was China or India.

China does not command as much appeal as India in many countries in the West because of "uncertainties," and "language was in favour of India," he said.

The company, which had started in 1996 with an open-die forge, had expanded to large ring mills. One of the largest and powerful ring rolling mills in India was now in Kanchipuram district, about 60 km southwest of Chennai. The company caters to a range of industries including aerospace, power and engineering industries.

Dr Francesco Varrasi, Managing Director, Mind Resources, an engineering process outsourcing company, said that with the second largest pool of engineers and scientists in India, Mind Resources was planning to "outsource everything" to India. Mr M. Ganesh, Managing Director, Bonfiglioli Transmissions, said that Bonfiglioli chose "Chennai over China" because of skilled human resource and work culture. Mechanical engineering was a strong sector in Italy and they can come to India to serve the global market. Bonfiglioli, which makes industrial power transmission products had made a `nervous commitment' in India six years ago because things had not been `very comfortable' then. But now from a turnover of Rs 6 lakh it has grown to Rs 240 crore.

Mr K. Rajaraman, Special Secretary, Tamil Nadu Industries Department, said that the Tamil Nadu Government is likely to earmark space exclusively for small scale industries, industrial zones set up for large companies to set up manufacturing facilities. This would be among the provisions to support the small enterprises in the State's new industrial policy to be announced soon.