The seminar, titled 'Doing Business in India', was co-sponsored by the Consulate General and the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
Representatives from Invest SA and Invest India gave presentations on the opportunities available in their respective countries.
Kumar said his office is in touch with South Africa's banking, equity and financial sectors to consider direct investment into India, despite historically preferring routes through the West.
“A lot of[India's]investment in these areas is also coming from the West, so why should the West need to mediate this when the investments that South Africa is making in the West are also routes to and from India? Is there a relationship between India and South Africa? ” Kumar told them.
“We can take care of ourselves. You can deal directly with our employees,” he said.
Kumar said there has been some success in this regard. “We succeeded in convincing a major bank that was planning to set up an India fund and wanted to raise capital from London for the fund. With the comfort we have given them, they too will rise up.'' “It's a huge vote of confidence in the India-South Africa relationship,'' the diplomat said.
Kumar said he had mentioned India's progress to the business sector at meetings over the past year and they were “very excited” about it.
“The only complaint they have is that there are not enough opportunities for South Africans to benefit from the opportunities that are opening up in India as well. I want to change that,” Kumar said, reminiscing. A newspaper report the same morning said there had been a net outflow of approximately $60 billion in investment to South Africa over the past decade.
“That is not the case with India. Over this period, India has made a net investment in South Africa. This month alone, we have been able to speak to four large publicly listed Indian companies, so at this stage we have However, the proposed investment in South Africa is at a very advanced stage.
“The fifth company (Pepsi India's bottling company, Varun Beverages) has already announced that it will acquire a South African beverage company called Bevco for R3 billion,” the diplomat said, adding that South African investment would It added that it was also heading to India.
“We want to develop that investment corridor in other sectors as well, such as manufacturing. The Indian government is committed to developing India as a manufacturing hub, just like South Africa is working in this direction. “We're very passionate about that, so we want them to come to South Africa as well. We also manufacture in India,” he said.
Kumar said India has a very favorable incentive structure for manufacturing.
“For our part, we also note South Africa's desire to develop as a manufacturing hub. We have encouraged our companies to benefit from this opportunity, particularly in the automotive and auto accessories sectors. “All the major car companies are based here in South Africa.” “Africa. Some parts manufacturers are also here. This is the area that the South African government is paying most attention to. Our car companies will benefit from this. “I would like to receive it,” he said.
Apart from government incentives, Kumar said Indian companies will also benefit from South Africa becoming part of the American Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a pan-African free trade agreement that is also becoming a reality. There are other benefits, he said.
“This is a very unique advantage because India does not have such an agreement,” he said.
Kumar said South African companies should also consider setting up Overseas Development Centers (ODCs) in India.
“South Africa's leading mining, retail, insurance and banking companies could benefit from opportunities in this regard, as they develop and test their products in India before selling them globally. They can benefit from our skills, scale and costs, and perhaps even stay in Africa, with India in mind,'' Kumar suggested.
JCCI CEO Bernadette Seiler praised India for advancing women's causes and said the benefits to South Africa and India, particularly through the BRICS agreement, were well known. .
“I remember traveling to India a while back and being very impressed by how proactive India is in promoting women in various fields. We look forward to doing that here.” ” she said.
