Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Feb 15, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Feb 15, 2007 ePaper |
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Foreign Trade Government - Foreign Relations Indian, Italian companies sign 11 MoUs in key areas Our Bureau
BIZ BONHOMIE: (From right) The Italian Prime Minister, Mr Romano Prodi; the Italian Minister of International Trade, Ms Emma Bonino; and the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Mr Kamal Nath, at the India-Italy Business Forum in Mumbai on Wednesday. — Paul Noronha
Eleven MoUs (memoranda of understanding) were signed between various Indian and Italian companies primarily from the auto sector (three) followed by two each in the defence and electronics, oil and gas, banking and finance and education sector. The MoUs were signed in the presence of the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Romano Prodi, who acknowledged the increase in bilateral trade between the two countries while adding that India has to offer easier market access to Italy on a reciprocal basis. He also pleaded for a reduction in peak customs tariff.
Auto sector
On the forefront, Tata Motors enhanced its partnership with Fiat Auto, S.p.A with an overseas industrial project undertaken for the first time. Furthermore, the companies decided to strengthen their commercial relationship by looking at a feasibility study to enter the commercial vehicle segment jointly in various markets. Mahindra & Mahindra, the leading player in the farm and equipment sector in the country is set to enhance its product portfolio by introducing a new transmission from Carraro group for its upcoming `475 deluxe' tractor range.
Defence and electronics
In the defence and electronics sector, Selex Sistemi Intergrati, part of the Finmeccanica group and providing the latest solutions for air defence, vessel traffic management, coastal defence and air traffic management systems the design and manufacture of helicopters, missiles defence electronics, transportation and energy, has signed an MoU with India's largest engineering goods manufacturer, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL). This agreement is in addition to similar deals already in place between BHEL and other Finmeccanica group companies. Elettronica, another leading player in electronic defence, has sewed up with Alpha Design Technologies to develop design, development, production and support for electronic warfare systems for the Indian defence market.
Oil and gas
The promising oil and gas sector saw two agreements signed between Eni SpA and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The primary one being the joint deepwater exploration agreement signed for local and overseas markets followed by one signed for hydrocarbon exploration activity in India and Congo, Brazzaville. Tecnimont, a leading engineering and construction company in oil and gas, energy sectors has signed an MoU with Engineers India, to develop common business perspectives in the UAE.
Education
In the education sector, two partnership agreements have been notched up. First and foremost, STMicroelectronics, a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor solutions, has tied up with Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT, Delhi) to jointly set up state of the art research and innovation labs at their respective campuses. Both labs are expected to be operational by Q2 - 2007. Besides these 11 MoUs, the country witnessed the largest foreign delegation (400 single entrepreneurs from Italy) from any overseas country with 2,000 one-to-one B2B (Business to Business) meetings in Kolkata and Mumbai.
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