COMMENTARY
INTERVIEWS
SPECIALS
CHAT
ARCHIVES

Foreign companies seek to make the most of India Engg Trade Fair

Veeresh Malik in New Delhi

The India Engineering Trade Fair 1999, the biennial show organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries, will be inaugurated on Thursday evening at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan by Vice-President Krishan Kant.

Called IETF-'99, it is billed as the largest of its kind in Asia. The vital statistics: it will held over 65,000 square metres; 35 countries will participate; 150 product categories will be on display; 2000 exhibitors will make it to the show; and the main event will be complemented by seven concurrent fairs.

The event was originally conceived to mirror the India's engineering capabilities. Today it has become an all-encompassing business fair, with significant participation from the service industry.

Interestingly, foreign corporations from 35 countries are participating, looking to sell to, rather than buy from, India!

The event has an impressive happenings list. Japanese auto major Toyota will run a teaser campaign to mark the launch of its three-bench multi-purpose vehicle or multi-activity vehicle. Australian components industry will display its wares to seek an entry into the Indian market. A series of Korean events include fashion shows, food festivals, movies and diplomatic dos.

While the "partner state" is Maharashtra, the "partner country" this year is South Korea, with whom bilateral trade has gone up from close to zero in the early '80s to as much as $ 2.2 billion in 1996. Direct investment from South Korea in India has gone up from $ 2.6 million in 1991 up to $ 620 million in 1996. Figures for the years after that are not available, said the organisers!

Over 150 South Korean companies will showcase their expertise in automobiles, consumer electronics, telecom, steel and ocean transport.

Early visitors to the venue said the grounds belong to the government, so there is this overbearing presence of the governmental organisations and departments, in spite of the CII's stand-alone efforts. So, they say, scope for open interaction with anyone and everyone is less. The next event in 2001 will be called India Expo.

Business News