Cologne: The small German town of Eschweiler, near the historic city of Aachen, wants Indian companies to set up operations there, particularly in the Information Technology (IT) sector. Eschweiler's Mayor Mr Rudi Bertram recently invited the Cologne-based, regional director, of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr Mohan Murti, to discuss ways to promote cooperation between Eschweiler and the CII and seek the latter's assistance to attract Indian companies to the region.Mr Bertram has even proposed the creation of an industry park to accommodate Indian companies interested in setting up operations in Eschweiler which the Mayor would like to develop into the "Silicon Valley on the Rhine" in the future.Mr Bertram's interest in getting Indian companies has been prompted by Mr Murti's talks with the Aachen Technical University (ATU) on the establishment of a technical training centre in the IT sector with CII assistance and the support of Indian professors and instructors.
In an interview in Cologne, Mr Murti told India Abroad News Service that ATU was taking "great interest" in establishing the training centre. The CII's Cologne office has been using what the Germans call the "shotgun approach" - direct cold calling on German companies - to facilitate the spadework of German companies interested in seeking a collaboration partner in India or setting up a 100 per cent owned company in India.
Mr Murti said that Germany was a "very attractive" trading partner for India, being the third largest supplier of goods to India, after the USA and the UK, and accounting for some 5.5 per cent of India's import requirements.On the other hand, Germany is the fifth largest buyer of Indian goods, absorbing some five per mcent of India's total exports.
Mr Murti also disclosed that he had recently identified eight German software companies looking for partners in India or software contracting services, amounting to approximately DM 288 million (US$ 1 = DM 2.28). Some of the specific areas of interest are business management software, artificial intelligence and banking end user data access.
One of the "hot" projects for Indian providers is the CAD/GIS solution services project. This is a computer-based industry, which is rapidly growing in the USA, Germany, France and Australia.
Mr Murti said the CII Cologne office has built up a software opportunities portfolio (SOP) and is scouting for the right business partners for execution of some major projects with European public utilities and service companies. An interesting development that has been taking place in Germany in the past few years is that investments from India to Germany have been growing.
"The CII has received inquiries from 40 Indian companies interested in establishing an operation in Europe, particularly Germany, UK and France," Mr Murti maintained.
IANS
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