Slowdown haunts! But Koreans, Japanese see it differently, have BIG plans in India

NEW DELHI. Korea’s KIA Motors has set records by making the highest ever booking of 40,000 Seltos cars in just 35 days of its launch in India.

The annual investment of Korean companies in India has touched an all-time high at $1-billion.

Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corp is investing $2-billion into the Indian real estate sector. Many Japanese companies including startups are coming to India to set up their ventures here.

Chinese investment in Indian start-ups has crossed $5 billion. The same goes with companies from Taiwan, and other Asian as well as European nations.

There are many stories doing rounds about the economic slowdown in India with many domestic businesses not doing well while others resorting to layoffs of their workforce for the want of business.

However, undeterred by these developments the expat business communities look upbeat on the long-term business prospects in India and therefore are planning big time to invest here.

Korean trade organizations like KOTRA, KITA, and KOSMA are working overtime to ensure smooth entry of Korean investors – micro, small, medium, big enterprises, and startups, into India.

“I have heard of the slowdown in the Indian economy especially the auto sector but I have a different point of view on this. I visited KIA Motors’ roll-out ceremony of Seltos cars, and I was surprised to see an overwhelming response. Similarly, Hyundai’s share in Indian car market has jumped to 20% even though the total volume of car sales in India has decreased,” Moon Young Kim, President, Southwest Asia, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) told Asian Community News (ACN) Network on the sidelines of Korea Fair in New Delhi recently.

KIA Motors booked 6200 cars on the very first day of its roll out on August 22.

And the latest trend captured on the economic front is the flood of small, micro-enterprises and startups led by youths from Korea, Japan, and other countries.

Korea car majors Hyundai, KIA doing great:

Korea that celebrated Korea India Economic Cooperation Week September 23-28, was surprised to see the response from Korean companies planning to enter India for setting up their ventures.

“It was evident from the response of Korean companies that we completed our registration for the Korea Fair in India within one week which was not the case 2-3 years back,” said the beaming Kotra chief.

Korea has about 600 companies operating in India as against 141 Japanese companies.

However, according to KITA chief in India Hee-chul Jung, the number of Korean companies in India will soon cross the 2000 mark.

Upbeat on the prospects of doing business in India, Korea has formed a dedicated trade association KOSMA – Korea Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise Association to pay due attention to SMEs wanting to do business in India.

Micro entrepreneurs and startups mushrooming:

A large number of Japanese and Korean young entrepreneurs aged between 25 and 29 have either set up their ventures or in the process of doing it.

Ohhun Kwon, Director, Pec Apac India Pvt Ltd is going to set up a Dog Cat Companion animal hospital in India from Japan. His company has ventured out of Japan for the first time and has plans to set up its first animal hospital in India and then go to other Asian countries.

Also read: EXCLUSIVE: Pets care – the Japanese way. First Japanese animal hospital coming up in India

Another Japanese Saki Tsuru has come to India to set up an upscale house maid service for the expats from Japanese and other communities as well as HNIs.

Two Japanese friends Tamio Sugiura and Hitoshi Makino have joined hands with India brothers duo Saurabh and Tilak Sondhi to set up India’s first Sanuki udon noodle restaurant by the name of Irasshai in Gurugram.

Minsu Song, a South Korean animator is going to launch the world’s first cricket animation series fo Indian television and has plans to launch the project in May next year.

What makes them look so upbeat about India:

For expat investors, India is not only the world largest democracy but also the demographic composition of India is very good and better than that of China and the USA. And India has an average age of 29 and the young generation. Therefore, they see a huge potential in India than China or other countries.

“Elements like large democracy, unique demographic composition, and large young generation are some of the attractions that make us look at India in a positive manner. Our annual investment in India has touched an all-time high at $1-b, and it is likely to grow at an even faster pace,”  said Moon Young Kim, the KOTRA Chief.

Also read: Coming from Korea; Cricket Animation for Indian Kids