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Indian entrepreneurs flock to Shanghai

Batuk Vora in Shanghai

China's growing economic might has got Indian entrepreneurs flocking to this eastern trade and commercial hub.

Known as the Dragon Head of the Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai, a city of 14.74 million people, has become the key to fast developing trade relations between India and China.

There is an old Indian connection to this place. Victor Sassoon, a Baghdadi Jew, arrived in Shanghai from Bombay and made his millions in the opium trade, real estate and horses in the 19th century.

He built the biggest hotel in the city -- The Cathay -- one of the four grand hotels of the Orient. The Cathay was nationalised by the Communists together with the rest of China.

India is back in Shanghai with a bang now.

"Our trade with China in the year 2000 was $2.9 billion, or roughly $3 billion, growing by about 40 per cent over the previous year," said Sujan Chenoy, the Indian consul general at Shanghai.

"China exported $1.6 billion worth of goods and India exported roughly $1.4 billion. Further, during the first six months this year India recorded exports worth $1.7 billion and we can be sure the annual trade figure will cross $3.5 billion by the end of this year," he said.

China's General Administration of Customs confirmed that imports from India touched $759.83 million during January-May 2001, up by 50.9 per cent over the corresponding period in 2000. Mineral products accounted for nearly half of India's exports.

Chemical products took the lead in China's export to India during the first five months. It exported $189.746 million worth of chemicals. India is China's biggest trading partner in South Asia.

Some 300 Indian professionals and traders now live in this city and Indian entrepreneurs have formed the Shanghai-Indian Business Association.

Tandoor, among the six Indian restaurants, has become a popular name among the Chinese in Shanghai who are turning into a new race of cosmopolitans, with Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's branches spread all over Shanghai.

"East China has only 10 per cent population of China but roughly 30 per cent GDP (gross domestic product)," said Chenoy.

India's commercial consul Arijit Ghosh said as much as 27 per cent of India's trade was done through Shanghai and the neighbouring ports of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. He said India's total trade with east China registered an impressive 70 per cent increase.

India's exports to Shanghai alone rose by 350 per cent in 2000 compared to China's export to India by 53 per cent. Export of organic chemicals rose by 250 per cent. Among other exports were textiles, plastics, marine products and copper products.

India's commercial presence here is signified by Dr Reddy's Labs, Vam Organic, Bry Air, Tata SEAsia exports, Kanoria Petrochemicals, the State Bank of India, Orind Refractories, Ranbaxy, Essel Packaging, NIIT, Aptech, Cipla and the National Research and Development Corporation.

"India's strength is IT (information technology) and the Chinese -- from a taxi driver to the mayor of city -- recognise this. There are about 50 branches of NIIT in China imparting software training," said Chenoy.

Indian businessmen were all praise for China's labour reforms. They said an average Chinese worker was three times as productive as his Indian counterpart. They also pointed out that foreign investors in China pay less tax than local manufacturers.

That is perhaps what has led some Indian diamond cutting units from Gujarat and Bombay to establish their units at Shenzhen. Ajanta, the famous Indian watchmaker from Morvi in Gujarat, too is this country.

Several Hong Kong Sindhi and Bombay-based Gujarati businessmen have settled deep inside the mainland in the business of textile, artificial jewellery and spices.

Bao-Steel of Shanghai, the most modern Chinese integrated steel plant, has contracted India's Simplex as its consultant. The Wuxi Group and Chengshou-Xizhu Plastic Factory have established joint ventures in India.

A new trend noticed by Indian mission officials is that many Sindhi and Gujarati professionals have been moving to China from Taiwan.

Indian companies have now started participating regularly at the various international exhibitions and trade fairs at Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Shanghai has been the destination for several official and trade missions from India in recent months, including business delegations from Tamil Nadu, the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce, Assocham and West Bengal as well as a Parliament and industrialists' team.

India's ministers for information technology, human resources and labour too visited Shanghai recently.

Indo-Asian News Service

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