18.5.15

China Deals




Prime minister Narendra Modi got down to business on the final day of his trip to China on Saturday, saying his country was open for investment as firms signed deals worth more than $22 billion. “Let us work together in mutual interest and for progress and prosperity of our great countries,“ Modi told executives from 200 Chinese and Indian companies at a business forum in the Chinese commercial hub Shanghai. “Now India is ready for business.“ Modi was on the final day of a three-day trip to his fellow Asian giant as the two jockey for regional influence and India's trade deficit with China balloons.
China is India's biggest trading partner with two way commerce totalling $71 billion in 2014. But India's trade deficit with China has soared from just $1 billion in 2001-02 to more than $38 billion last year, Indian figures show. Indian embassy trade counsellor Namgya Khanpa said the 21 agreements signed at the Shanghai event were “worth over $22 billion“, with another five exchanged earlier. Many of the contracts were for Chinese banks to finance Indian firms, and also included deals in the telecom, steel, solar energy and film sectors, she said.
As many as 26 business agreements worth over $22 billion were signed between companies such as Adani group, Bharti Airtel and Welspun and their Chinese counterparts on Saturday. These MoUs span a wide range of industries, including renewable, energy, power infrastructure, steel and small & medium industries. Among major pacts is Bharti Airtel's tie-up for credit facility of $2.5 billion with China Development Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The Adani Group also inked an agreement with Golden Concord Holdings to establish an integrated photovoltaic industrial park in Mundra SEZ and to explore investments in gas power generation and natural gas sector.
In another pact, Adani Ports & SEZ and Guangzhou Port Authority agreed to establish “sister port relationship“ between Mundra Port and Guangzhou Port. Welspun Energy entered into a memorandum of understanding with Trina Solar of China to jointly set up a PV industry park for production of 500 MW of Photovoltaic (PV) cell and 500 MW of PV solar module in India. “(These) are a reflection of the strong interest of Chinese companies to invest in India and contribute towards `Make in India' initiative,“ an official statement said. It further said the agreements would also facilitate cooperation between Indian and Chinese companies in the film and entertainment industry.

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