The booming East China region as well as Shanghai metropolis has wooed top Indian firms like Infosys, Satyam, TCS, NIIT, State Bank of India and Reliance to set up software development centres or representative offices to tap the huge Chinese as well as the East Asian markets.

"In keeping with China's emergence as a manufacturing hub, Indian industry is taking a dispassionate look at the benefits of greater economic engagement through investments, opening of representative offices and the setting up of operations in East China region, especially in Shanghai," the Consul General of India in Shanghai, Sujan Chinoy told PTI.

Noting the steady flow of Indian companies and Indian professionals in East China, Chinoy said Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's two-day visit to Shanghai in June clearly recognised the cosmopolitan city's importance as the vanguard of trade and commerce and high-tech endeavour in China.

The total gross domestic product of Shanghai (municipality), Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces is $230 billion, which is almost half the GDP of India, Chinoy added.

The total exports of Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang amounted to $90.40 billion in 2002, almost twice the exports of India. In 2002, the total amount of foreign investment utilised in this region was $18.8 billion.

This underscores the degree to which the region is dependent on exports and foreign investment, Chinoy noted.

Commenting on India's trade with the East China region, Chinoy said it is estimated that about 32 per cent of trade between India and China is conducted through Shanghai port and other ports in the neighbouring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

India's total trade with East China has registered an impressive 70 per cent growth in 2000 reaching $777 million, and another impressive 28 per cent increase in 2001 reaching almost $1 billion.

In 2002, India's total trade with East China stood at $1.582 billion, an increase of 60 per cent over 2001.

During 2002 India's total exports to East China reached $669 million while imports touched $913 million.

There are over 30 Indian companies with a presence in East China Chinoy said while pointing out that India has many high-tech products to offer and a vibrant service sector that can participate in niche areas in the Chinese economy.

Infosys has recently announced that it would set up a software development centre in Shanghai and invest $5 million to set up a wholly owned foreign enterprise to tap the Chinese as well as East Asian markets.

Satyam Computer Services already has a state-of-the-art software development centre in Shanghai's Pudong hi-tech park and has invested some $1 million in the facility.

NIIT, with its headquarters in Shanghai, has expanded throughout China in a big way by opening over 120 centres. By the end of the year, NIIT hopes to increase the number of its education centres to 150.

TCS has also established a fully owned subsidiary and a corporate office in Shanghai as well as a software development centre in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Jiangsu province.

Reliance Industries Limited has a representative office in Shanghai and the company is expanding its operations steadily.

The State Bank of India has a representative office in Shanghai, which it hopes to upgrade to a full-fledged one by next year. ICICI bank also opened its representative office in Shanghai a month ago.

Sundaram fastners is also in the process of setting up a manufacturing base for fastners in Zhejiang province in East China.

Dr Reddy's Laboratory and China's Kunshan Double Crane Pharmaceutical Co have a joint venture to produce drugs in Jiangsu province.

Moreover, the Confederation of Indian Industry, the country's premier business body has also selected Shanghai to be its headquarter in China.

He also noted that a number of Chinese companies are bidding for infrastructure projects in India such as telecommunication, power, roads and ports.