Japanese firms have more than 200 investment plans in India: Japanese Minister

NEW DELHI: Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan has disclosed that Japanese companies have more than 200 exciting investment plans in India.

The Japanese minister said this while interacting with the team of Indian bureaucrats led by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, was speaking at the Invest India Exclusive Investment Forum – Make in India: Japan Roadshow 3.0, Digital Edition recently.

However, the Japan METI minister Hiroshi Kajiyama was limited in revealing the sectors in which these projects are coming to invest in India. “These include factory construction and significant production line expansion. It is important to improve the concentration of production bases.”

“We need to diversify the supply chain during and after the corona era. Prime Minister Modi has set “Self Reliant India” to play a major role in the global supply chain and is making efforts to attract investment. Japanese companies have more than 200 exciting investment plans in India. These include factory construction and significant production line expansion,” he added.

Flanked by a battery of top ministry officials including Shigehiro Tanaka, Vice Minister, METI; Nobuhiko Sasaki, Chairman, JETRO; Kenji Sugino, Secretary-General, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India (JCCII), Hiroshi Kajiyama asked the Indian government to create an attractive business environment, and lend support to these companies to increase investment projects in India.

“Bold support from the Indian government is vital to increase investment projects. Attracting foreign direct investment is highly competitive in the global economy. Thus in order for Japanese companies to select India as an investment destination, it is very important to provide an attractive business environment. We are, including via the India-Japan Industrial Comprehensive Partnership, working together to strengthen industrial competitiveness in India,” said the METI minister.

Hiroshi Kajiyama, however, praised India for putting in its efforts to address the concerns the Japanese companies are facing in India.

“Progress is being made. For example, one of the problems is with payment delays which have remained an issue for years, are now moving slowly towards a solution. And India’s export volume of agriculture products, such as spices and soybeans whose custom clearance was stagnant due to lockdown, is recovering. I would like to thank all the related organizations for their excellent efforts. The Efforts of the Indian government to address various issues facing Japanese companies greatly encourage them to consider investing more in India,” he added.

Japan would continue to ask the Government of India to create an attractive environment for Japanese companies, said Hiroshi Kajiyama adding that METI would continue to cooperate in strengthening the Indian industrial base and endeavor to build a better Japan-India economic relationship.