Indian companies having business ties with Europe are in for hard times. A FICCI Survey on “Current Economic Scenario in Europe and its Impact on Indian Industry’ reveals that over 75 per cent of the respondent companies have suffered 10-15 per cent loss of business from the European region.

In order to keep their balance sheets stable, over 30 per cent of the respondents have begun to look beyond Europe at Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and even in North America.

Twenty five per cent of the respondents feel that during the current economic turmoil, rather than facilitating foreign investments, the respective European Governments have made their processes more stringent in obtaining and renewing long-term visas, work permits, family and dependent visas and overall ease of doing business.

Nevertheless the survey indicates that India’s outbound investments to EU will continue. Moreover, a number of Indian companies are viewing the current economic crisis as an opportunity to enhance investments, owing to attractive valuations.

Indian manufacturers are pursuing imports of high-end machinery and technology from Europe due to highly competitive prices being offered by European exporters. This could have long-term spin-offs for Indian industry in terms of added capacities and reduced capital expenditures.

The 30 companies surveyed were drawn from sectors such as textiles, consumer goods, construction, chemicals, IT/ITES, machinery, agriculture and food and finance.

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