The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized an Interactive Session with Mr. Masayuki Taga, Consul General of Japan in Kolkata during the Managing Committee Meeting, held on 9th March 2017 in The Bengal Chamber Premises.

Welcoming the Consul General of Japan, Mr Masayuki Taga, on his first visit to the Chamber, Mr. Sutanu Gosh, President, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry introduced him to the members, present in the meeting.

Mr. Taga deliberated on the economic relationship between Japan and India. He said that in the last 7/8 years and especially in the last three years, Indo-Japandese relation has been deepening and widening. The Prime Ministers of the two countries have been having formal meetings on regular basis. From the regular mutual visits various joint efforts have materialized. The relationship between the Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Japan has been good and various agreements have been signed on the economic side. The countries also have had bilateral dialogues, defence co-operations and a few agreements on bilateral issues. FDI from Japan to India had increased. Number of Japanese Companies existing in India has increased. The Consul General felt that there existed a lot of opportunities to increase the share of Japanese companies in the Eastern part of the country. Many Japanese companies have moved to the West and Southern part of the country looking at the port and other infrastructure facilities. Mr. Taga would like to promote the economic relation between Japan and the Eastern part of India including West Bengal to bring Japanese businesses to this region. He noted that West Bengal had an advantage insofar as availability of power etc. However, it was a question of better business opportunities that are attracting Japanese Companies to Southern and the Western parts of India.

Mr Taga felt that it was more of a question of connectivity from the South East to the East Asian countries that would give a boost to investment in the Eastern part of India. The terrain in the East and the North East is difficult posing a challenge to movement of bulk cargo for manufacturing industries. There exist opportunities for building good connectivity from the Eastern part of India through the Bay of Bengal. The Consul General felt that the Government could take a lead to improve connectivity and infrastructure development to bring about a big change in investment and growth. In Bangladesh, the Japanese Government is spending substantially for improving connectivity and increasing energy supply. With improved infrastructure facilitating movement of goods across borders in West Bengal and neighbouring States as well as neighbouring countries, it should be possible to attract not only large Japanese companies but also Japanese SMEs who were interested to come but would need help. Quite a few Japanese Companies have invested in Bangladesh, a country with a large population. The aspect of building connectivity infrastructure needs to be looked into for the development of the entire East.

The other aspect which the Consul General felt was important for attracting Japanese Companies was to project to them some success stories like the story of Maruti Suzuki in India. Demand for heavy machinery in India was strong and Hitachi Heavy Machinery was setting up units in Kharagpur, Jamshedpur and in Karnataka. A floating fish feed company was coming up in Kharagpur which would cater to the entire Eastern region and would increase production depending on the increase in demand. The Consul General stated that as far as future investments were concerned, India was still a preferred destination for Japanese Companies. Many companies had already invested in the South and the West as well as in Gujarat.

Mr. Taga’s address was followed by an engaging Q/A session.