Belgium lays out red carpet for Indian firms

“Foreigners can incorporate companies in a couple of days”

LURING INVESTORS: (From left) Customs Attache Werner Van Decruyssen; Deputy Consul General of Belgium in Mumbai Eduard Van Kleunen; Trade Commissioner of Flanders, Belgium, Jayant Nadiger; and P.M. Sundarajan, member, Infrastructure Panel, CII, Chennai Zone, at ‘Invest in Flanders, Belgium South India Road Show,’ held in Chennai on Monday. Photo: S.S. Kumar

After attending a road show by Flanders Investment and Trade in Chennai last year, a Chennai-based industrial tyre manufacturer established a warehouse in the Flanders region that enabled it to increase its sales volume in the European market.

This was disclosed by Emrald Resilient Tyre Manufacturers Private Ltd Managing Director V.T. Chandhrasekharan at a road show organised by the Flanders Investment and Trade jointly with the Confederation of India Industry and GrantThornton here on Monday.

Talking to

The Hindu , Mr. Chandhrasekharan said: “We are now considered as a serious player in the European market and our ‘Greckster' brand has gained recognition. We export about 80 per cent of our production. Soon after establishing the warehouse, we were able to increase our turnover from Rs.60 crore to Rs.100 crore. Hearing our success story, an auto-ancillary unit is also planning to set up a warehousing centre.”

An eight member delegation from Flanders Investment and Trade is in the city showcasing the success story of Emrald to lure other Indian companies to set up logistics and distribution base in Flanders.

In his presentation, Jayant Nadiger, Trade Commissioner of Flanders, Belgium said last year they held road shows in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad and this year it would be held in Cochin and Coimbatore.

“As most of the customers depend on just-in-time concept, setting up of distribution centre in cost-effective regions such as Flanders makes sense. Flanders will act as a platform for Indian companies to launch themselves to address the European market. We are talking to different Indian firms and are ready to help them in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, auto components and others,” he said.

Filippe Depotter, Invest Project Manager of Flanders Investment and Trade said that Belgium has been rated as number one destination in Europe for doing business since 2004.

He also said that it was easier to incorporate companies by foreigners and it could be done within a couple of days.

Eduard Van Kleunen, Deputy Consul General of Belgium in Mumbai, said Belgium was preferred destination for Foreign Direct Investment. According to World Investment Report, Belgium attracted $ 62 billion of FDI in 2010 and was ranked fourth in world.