The Hindu : National : Finland sees Tamil Nadu as a prime investment destination

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Thursday, Oct 25, 2007
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Finland sees Tamil Nadu as a prime investment destination

Vani Doraisamy

The State boasts of an enabling business environment, says Minister

Paavo Vayrynen

CHENNAI: Finland is seeing a huge investment potential in Tamil Nadu and will hold talks with government officials on Thursday to explore ways of improving trade and commerce.

“A lot of Finnish companies have already made enormous investments in India, especially Chennai, and we want to improve upon these contacts as we see an enabling business environment in Tamil Nadu,” Paavo Vayrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland, told The Hindu on Wednesday.

Mr. Vayrynen, who is on a six-day visit to India, is heading a high-level business delegation that is on a trade and investment promotion mission. The delegation, which includes Asko Numminen, Finland’s Ambassador to India, visited the Nokia plant at Sriperumbudur on Wednesday. Nokia is the most visible Finnish business brand in India, besides Wartsila and Kone. The volume of Finnish investments in India stands at $800 million, which, according to the Minister, is “too small, given the potential.”

“Unlike other countries, there is not much bureaucratic delay here, though the poor infrastructure may pose a problem for investors. Our investments in Tamil Nadu are, perhaps, higher than in any other State. Chennai is our most important investment destination,” he says.

The delegation would also like to see a parallel rise in Indian investments in their country. “Indian investors have done surprisingly well in Finland. We can be the Indian investor’s gateway to the European Union, Russia and the United States. With Finnair planning to fly to more Indian cities in the near future, connectivity will no longer pose a problem.” Indian investments in Finland are mostly in the IT sector.

It is important that India continues the pace of economic reforms.

Considerable progress

According to Mr. Vayrynen, considerable progress has been made by both countries in the move towards the WTO deal, and the bilateral trade policy involving the European Union and India. While the latter will materialise next year, the WTO deal is most likely soon.

Apart from IT, Finland and India share a commonality of interests in renewable energy. Technology transfer could be mutual. Finland also wants to work closely with India in dealing with climate change and promoting sustainable and inclusive development.

Academic partnerships are also being sought with Indian higher education institutions and a group of rectors of top Finnish universities having visited Chennai.

Another potential area is the two-way tourist traffic, with Helsinki, the Finnish capital, being actively promoted as the gateway to the U.S. The delegation will hold talks with Indian businessmen on Thursday at a business-to-business interaction organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. “The goal is to double the volume of trade in four years, and the interest we have seen among Indian businessmen is an encouraging sign,” says the Minister.

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