The Hindu Business Line : Belgium seeks Indian investment in Flanders

BIZ TALKS: Mr Jean Luc Dehaene (right), Belgian Minister of State and Mayor of Vilvoorde, with Mr Sanyaj Jayavarthanavelu, Chairman, CII Tamilnadu State Council, at a meeting in Chennai on Wednesday. — K. Pichumani

Chennai March 21 Direct flights between New Delhi and Brussels and Mumbai and Brussels are likely to commence later this year, according to Mr John Verzeele, Director, Business Development, Flanders Investment and Trade. He was in the city as part of a Belgian delegation promoting Indian investments into Flanders, the Dutch speaking northern region of Belgium.

At a press conference on Wednesday, he said Indian companies, especially those working in pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and information communication technology areas, could look at setting up distribution centres in Flanders to access the 450-million-strong European market. "There are over 200 distribution centres across Belgium as we are centrally located (within 800 km ) from the key markets in Europe," he said.

Belgium has four major ports including Antwerp and an evolved logistics industry. Earlier on Wednesday, the Belgian Minister of State and Mayor of Vilvoorde, Mr Jean Luc Dehaene, said India could explore investment related to the logistics industry. "Traditionally diamonds have dominated our bilateral trade. But aided by the Indian business community in Antwerp, we see scope for trade in other sectors such as logistics, seaport and airport services, environment technology and power generation," he said.

Bilateral trade between India and Belgium crossed 6 billion last year while Indian investment into Belgium was estimated at about 1 billion.

Knowledge sharing

The Confederation of Indian Industry Institute of Logistics is in talks with the Belgian Government to explore the possibility of knowledge sharing between the two countries. For the biennial logistics seminar organised by the institute, Belgium has been chosen as the partner country for 2007.

The press conference also highlighted tax benefits for companies setting up offices in Belgium. Lowering of corporate tax and I-T across the board, tax cuts to support R&D activities including a tax holiday for knowledge workers involved in research, and reducing the discrimination between debt and equity financing, are some of the measures taken by the Belgium Government in recent years to promote foreign investment.

More Stories on : Foreign Trade | Foreign Direct Investment | Tamil Nadu

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