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Gujarat touted as a launch pad for India
The Gujarat state government and several Indian companies are looking to invest in an export LNG terminal in Canada for importing gas from the country, a senior official said.
“The State government and Indian companies are ready to invest in Canada if the Harper government is willing to export LNG to India,” said DJ Pandian, principal secretary in the state’s Energy and Petrochemicals Department.
Pandian was addressing businesses at a reception organised by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC).
“Gujarat wants to tap cheaper natural gas in the Canada and is ready to invest in a LNG export terminal in the country, and a few Indian companies have made preliminary agreements to invest in such projects,” Pandian said.
He invited Canadian businesses to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade Summit to be held from January 8-13, 2013 and take advantage of business opportunities.
The theme of the summit would be innovation, sustainability and human development, Pandian added. ICCC president Naval Bajaj said,”The successful conclusion of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement would lead to more opportunities for bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Canada and India.”
The announcement comes in the wake of a call by the Canada India Business Council (C-IBC)
to Canadian business to realize the opportunity being afforded by the regions of India.
In a statement, the CIBC said, each of India's 28 federal states has the geographic size and population equivalent to that of a small nation. Each also has a unique economy with distinct growth rates and investment opportunities.
However, too often the discussion on the "opportunity of India" tends to obscure these differences - to the detriment of Canadian companies and industry.
To highlight the importance of increasing Canada's engagement with India at the state level and focusing more on the economic opportunities of individual regions, the Canada India Business Council (C-IBC) is signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Industrial Extension Bureau (iNDEXtb), an economic development organization representing the Government of Gujarat.
Located in Western India, Gujarat is the 2nd most industrialized and 3rd most urbanized state.
For the past six years, the state of Gujarat has had an average growth rate of 10.28% (one of the highest in India).
"While there has been much recent discussion about India's slowing growth rates, this conversation largely overlooks the significant differences between the diverse regional economies of India.
Canadian companies such as McCain Foods and Bombardier recognize this and have taken a more local focus. Both already have major plants in Gujarat. The Council knows that a growing number of other Canadian companies are looking to use Gujarat as the launch point from which to enter the broader Indian market," adds Rana Sarkar, President & CEO, C-IBC.
As part of the MOU signing, the C-IBC is hosting a delegation of senior management from top Indian companies led by Mr. D.J. Pandian, the Principal Secretary, Energy & Petrochemicals Department of the Government of Gujarat.
The sectors represented include: telecoms, energy, pharmaceuticals and finance and among the senior representatives from: Reliance Industries, Suzlon Energy Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Adani Gas, Torrent Pharma and Abellon Clean Energy are all attending.
"The C-IBC is pleased to lead the discussion on the progress of Canada's engagement with Gujarat. The roundtable will focus on identifying remaining challenges and highlighting emerging opportunities. Today's MOU provides a practical framework for achieving these objectives," said Peter Sutherland, Vice-Chairman, C-IBC.
Meanwhile, India’s Aditya Birla said it is acquiring Terrace Bay Pulp Inc , a North American paper grade pulp company, for $110 million and would make a further investment of over $250 million on this company in a phased manner.
Commenting on the deal, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said: "The acquisition of the Terrace Bay Mill and its subsequent conversion into a dissolving grade pulp mill is a major strategic move.
The Terrace Bay Mill is considered an anchor mill due to its location and its significant consumption of residual chips produced by the regional saw mills.
Situated in the north shore of Lake Superior, Ontario, the mill, which came under protection from creditors in January, will re-open in October and will make paper grade pulp until fiscal year 2016, when the conversion will be complete.
Canada-India at a glance
• In 2011, Canada's trade with India grew to $5.185 billion, up by 27.71% from 2010;
• Current free trade negotiations with India (CEPA) are expected to increase annual trade to $12 billion;
• The federal government has targeted $15 billion in bilateral trade by 2015.
Gujarat:
• Population - 6.03 Crore (60,383,628); is 4.99% of India's population (2011 Census)1
• Geographic proportion of India - 6%2
• Average Literacy rate - 79.31%3
• 2nd most industrialized, 3rd most urbanized and 5th richest state in India
• 30% of Total market capitalization of Indian stock market from Gujaratis
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