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Bengal plans auto hub, eyes investments from China

Economy Bureau
Posted: Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 0055 hrs IST
Updated: Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 0055 hrs IST

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Kolkata, Nov 3 : Undaunted by the Tata Motors’ pullout from Singur, the West Bengal government is still keen on developing an automobile-manufacturing hub in the state. There are three automobile clusters in the country covering the northern, western and the southern regions. The state government, therefore, is eager to bring up a hub in the eastern region too.

“We welcome Chinese investments, as well as the industrial sector, to look at the state as a potential-automobile manufacturing hub. The growing expertise in the automobile sector is an advantage for the Chinese companies,” said Sabyasachi Sen, principal secretary, department of commerce & industries, government of West Bengal. He was speaking at a seminar on Chinese investment opportunities in Bengal, in Kolkata on Monday.

“From the ‘90s, the state is on the path of industrial revival,” Sen said, adding that there are huge investment possibilities in leather, engineering, IT, biotechnology and infrastructure sectors in the state. “There are very good investment opportunities for manufacturing capacities of electrical goods in the state,” he said.

According to SP Yadav, executive director, West Bengal Industrial Development Corp Ltd, the state offers opportunities and has immense potential in sectors like iron & steel, real estate, hospitality & tourism, IT & ITeS, retail, chemicals & petrochemicals, leather, infrastructure and engineering. “The state has around 75 projects worth $990 million in iron & steel sector in the pipeline,” Yadav noted. Also, in sector like retail, the investments would touch $1.12 billion by 2010, he added.

From January to September 2008, Sino-Indian bilateral trade stood at $42 billion and by the end of this year, it is estimated to reach $56 billion, according to Mao Siwei, consul general of China in Kolkata. “The target is to reach $60 billion by 2010 but it seems the target would be achieved before time,” he said. The number of Indians visiting China has also increased considerably in the last few years. “A large delegation, comprising the governor of Yunnan province, businessmen and performing artists, are set to visit the city next month to promote economic and cultural co-operation between the two states,” Siwei added.

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