The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Australian State opens business office in Bangalore

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 21, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Australian State opens business office in Bangalore

Special Correspondent

It is the Australian State's first such office in India

NEW VENTURE: Governor of Victoria David de Kretser inaugurating the business office of the Victorian Government in Bangalore on Wednesday, along with Wayne Lewis, Victorian Government Commissioner for India. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore: The Australian State of Victoria on Wednesday opened its first business office in India in Bangalore in a bid to attract investments into Australia from Indian information technology (IT) and biotechnology companies.

Ben Fosset, chief executive officer, Invest Victoria, said the office was opened primarily to tap Indian companies, mainly the IT majors and companies in biotechnology, which were looking towards Australia for making investments.

The State Government was also looking for niche opportunities for Victorian companies bringing their capabilities into India.

"Invest Victoria was looking for the best location to establish a base in India and chose Bangalore because it is a city with a vision and very similar to Melbourne in many ways. The office will be staffed by specialists in ICT, education and international trade whose task will be to assist Indian companies looking to invest in Victoria," he said.

After inaugurating the office, David de Kretser, Governor of Victoria, said, "Australia is India's eighth largest overseas investor with over $1 billion (Australian), approved for around 140 joint ventures. This investment covers manufacturing, telecommunications, hotels, minerals processing, food processing, oil and gas and automotive sectors. Indian investment in Australia is also worth around $1 billion (Australian) making our country the ninth most important destination for Indian foreign direct investment." he said after inaugurating the office.

Wayne Lewis, Victorian Government Commissioner for India, said Indian IT majors such as Infosys, Satyam, TCS, Pentasoft and HCL had a major presence in Victoria, employing nearly 800 locals. "Indian companies looking for best expertise in SAP should come to Melbourne, which is a very good place if they are looking for the high-end high technology business," he said.

The goal was to use the new office as a platform to promote Victoria and its capital city Melbourne as a key location for India's overseas investment, he added.

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