New Delhi: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is organising an informal roundtable meeting on December 2nd with top executives of Chinese companies that are operating in India with an aim to understand and address their concerns related to ease of doing business in the country.

Telecom gear vendors such as Huawei and ZTE along with handset vendors and venture capital companies will participate in this meeting, which will be attended by about 15 central government secretaries from various key ministries, officials said. In addition, secretaries from states including Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana will attend the meeting.

The meeting will be chaired by the DIPP secretary and the objective of this meeting is to attract more investment from China through existing investors by addressing their concerns and making them brand ambassadors, people familiar with the matter said.

Invest India, the official investment promotion and facilitation agency of the central government, is coordinating the meeting with the DIPP.

“Currently, some Chinese companies are investing through indirect channels like venture capitals. Whatever they are investing can go overnight if they want…The government wants these companies to make direct investments here. They want to make this happen through long-term Chinese investors and make them brand ambassadors to get more investment,” said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified.

Chinese companies have some concerns related to speed of approvals. “Their expectation is that if they are bringing investment then they need speedy approvals across the table,” the person said. The existing Chinese investors are expected to also discuss curbs on visa issue, which they think is crucial for ease of doing business.

Source: The Economic Times