'France offers lucrative opportunities to Indian investors'

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Saurabh Gupta | 26 Oct, 2016
France is the financial hub of the future and offers vast investment and business opportunities to the Indian investors with single window clearance, simplified administrative systems, easier procedures for setting up business, reformed labour laws, reduced taxation, efficient transportation and ready infrastructure, said Christophe Sirugue, French Minister of State for Industry, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Sirugue was inaugurating a business seminar on 'Why Smart Investors Choose France?' organized by FICCI in association with the Embassy of France in India.

Sirugue said that France has qualified, hardworking, sincere, well-motivated manpower which is reasonable priced for the foreign investors. France is the largest market in Europe which has investor friendly policies and a free business environment. He added that France integrates creativity with innovation to create a stable and marketable economy.

Speaking about R&D in France, Sirugue said that France with its high-end Science and Technology is the Silicon Valley of Europe. The country is a tax haven for research. He added that France also has universities which provide specialized courses in subjects such as engineering and provide a conducive learning environment to foreign students.

Sirugue said that French companies have a visible presence in India and they were cooperating in the various initiatives of the Indian Government including Make in India, Smart Cities, Digital India and Skill India. However, bilateral trade is not commensurate with the potential of the two nations. France is an economic powerhouse and Indian investors are welcome to set up their businesses in the country to step up the economic growth trajectory in the two countries.

Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, said that the Indian business community stands committed towards forging new partnerships with France by tapping existing and unexplored potential and looks forward to give impetus to India-France trade and investment relations.

Thibaut Fabre, Director of Business France/India, introduced the seminar and launched the clip, 'France, a smart destination for Indian Investors' by Business France, the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy responsible for fostering export growth by French businesses as well as promoting and facilitating international investments in France.

'France, an innovative ecosystem and land of R&D' was illustrated by the success stories of Mr. Mani Doraisamy, CEO of Guesswork, laureate of French Tech Ticket. Guesswork is an Indian start-up which has developed a product recommendation engine for e-commerce. Guesswork is one of the laureates of the French Tech Ticket, a program designed for entrepreneurs from all over the world who want to create their startups in France.

Subir Bedi, Director of Etoshapan, shared his experience. Etoshapan is a leading global creator of flavors and fragrances which are used in a wide variety of consumer products such as Indian and Oriental attars, fine fragrances, beauty care products, detergents, household goods, beverages, sweets, dairy and savory products.

This was followed by a presentation on the attractiveness of France by Mrs Audrey Lucbernet, Head of Invest in France Department of Business France / India and Jean-Marc Fenet, Minister Counsellor, Head of the Regional Economic Service for India and South Asia.

Amair Farooqui, Attorney at law, Adamas, spoke on 'How to set-up successfully in France'. Adamas is a French law firm having a multidisciplinary group of lawyers and notaries with experience in all areas of business life, in private, public, European and international law.

The session also heard key messages of Indian CEOs about the economic attractiveness of France.