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Sharing borders with eight countries, the FrankfurtRhineMain region in Germany is a strategic location for businesses looking for European presence. The region has a dense cluster of IT companies, with several Indian biggies among them and is looking for more investment from India in the automotive, biotechnology, pharma and manufacturing sectors.

“Today no place can be a business destination without a substantial presence from Indian business organisations,” says the Frankfurt Mayor, Petra Roth. As an emerging country, India adds value to the region’s claims as a business destination, she says, adding there is demand for Indian expertise in sectors such as IT, biotech, pharma, consulting, engineering services, finance and manufacturing.

“The Indian companies in the region generated more than $5 billion in 2007. This is an impressive figure and speaks volumes about the region as a business destination,” the mayor says.

Reliance Industries, SBI, TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and HCL are among the leading Indian companies with operations there. “Key driver for Infosys to be located in FrankfurtRhineMain is the central location and connectivity of the region,” says Debjit Datta Chaudhuri of Infosys Technology Ltd Germany.

“Many of these (Indian IT) firms run their German or European operations out of FrankfurtRhineMain, and this enables them to respond quickly to their customers when supplying software services,” says Roth.

For Prakash Mohapatra, representative of Trianz Europe, the region’s attraction lies in its excellent air and rail connectivity to various places in Europe and beyond.

Besides business-friendly infrastructure facilities, potential investors are offered a business tax rate of 29.8 per cent (compared to 38.7 per cent previously), making “Germany one of the most competitive investment locations in Europe”.

Mayor Roth says there is even a non-profit organisation that supports investors in dealings with the local government bodies. It offers advisory services for setting up business, tax and labour laws, residence and work permits, locating office space, networking with industries and in accessing market reports and analyses. “This organisation will be the partner to all investors from the first minute,” she says. “A recent survey in Germany revealed that 89 per cent of existing organisations want to continue their investment which is a testimony for our ‘ease of doing business’”.

Number of Indians in Frankfurt: 6,000

Indian companies: 185

Weekly direct flights to India: 53

India-specific associations: 20

International schools: 11

Leisure options: 40 golf clubs, six water parks, spas and wellness centres and facilities for outdoor sports like canoeing, trekking and biking.

Culture: The place is famous for its wine and folk festivals. For Indians, there are several cricket clubs and even a ladies’ club.

Malathi Ramanathan

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