Indian investors | Maeeshat

It’s all about location, says Hong Kong as it woos Indian IT firms, airlines

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Corporate, Corporate Buzz, Emerging Businesses, Interviews, Investing

Stephen Phillips

By Aroonim Bhuyan,

New Delhi : The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is actively wooing Indian investors — especially software firms and airlines — pitching itself as the gateway to the markets of mainland China, northeast and southeast Asia.

“There are a number of fundamentals about Hong Kong that are very attractive,” Stephen Phillips, Director General of Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) who was on a visit to India this month, told IANS in an exclusive interview.

Stating that it is a very vibrant international city, Phillips said it is a “fantastic financial and professional services centre with a depth of talent and expertise to structure finance and business ventures across the region”.

“It is a great location with a lot of talent that can help Indian businesses tackle not only the Hong Kong market but China, northeast Asia and Southeast Asia,” he said.

InvestHK is a government department of Hong Kong responsible for attracting businesses and entrepreneurs to set up a business and facilitating foreign direct investment into the city.

It offers free advice and services to support overseas companies from the planning stage right through to the launch and expansion of their business.

Pointing to the centrality of Hong Kong’s location, Phillips said that almost all major cities within Northeast and Southeast Asia, home to around half of the world’s population, are within four hours flying distance.

Stating that the city’s business environment is very conducive for companies, he said that Hong Kong has a very simple tax regime.

“The standard profits tax for companies is 16.5 per cent and there are plans to reduce that to 8.25 per cent after crossing HK$2,000,000 (HK$1=approximately Rs 8),” the InvestHK chief said.

“There will also be legislation put in place to encourage R&D investment in Hong Kong with a super deduction for R&D expenditure of about 300 per cent after HK$2,000,000 and 200 per cent thereafter. So, it enables businesses to do R&D and develop and rise in the heart of Asia in proximity to the mainland markets, to scale up manufacturing in mainland China.”

There are over 8,000 foreign companies registered in Hong Kong, out of which over 4,000 have their regional headquarters there.

At a cost of about HK$5,000 and no minimum capital requirements, one can set up a company in Hong Kong within four working days.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has double taxation avoidance agreements with 37 jurisdictions globally, while negotiations with 13 jurisdictions are in progress.

Hong Kong is a free port with no import and export duties and visitors from over 170 countries enjoy visa-free entry into the city.

During his stay in India, Phillips visited New Delhi, Surat, Mumbai and Hyderabad and met representatives of over 20 companies.

So, what kind of companies are being targeted in India?

“We are seeing some strong ICT, software companies,” he said. “We are also seeing some aircraft, airlines companies as Hong Kong has a very attractive regime for aircraft leasing. So, we are talking to some of the airlines about how they might use Hong Kong.”

With Hong Kong being home to a vibrant Indian diamond trading community, Phillips also met with diamond companies during the course of his visit.

“We are also seeing a couple of companies in professional services. So, it is across the economy,” he said.

Stating that the existing Indian investment in Hong Kong is already quite broad-based, he added: “There are opportunities, whether it is in consumer sector or business sector or, increasingly, in real innovation-led sectors. So, I think some of the very exciting areas around AI, or artificial intelligence, around fintech where we know there are some very strong companies here in India, around smart cities.”

(Aroonim Bhuyan can be contacted at aroonim.b@ians.in)

—IANS

‘Indian investors must turn to Africa’s agricultural sector’

by admin | May 25, 2021 | Investing

By Francis Kokutse

Accra:(IANS) It looks like Indian investors would have to take a closer look at Africa’s agriculture because of the potential the sector presents.

Proof that the continent has very high potential has come from the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) which says in a recent report: “The value of Africa’s agriculture output is about $280 billion, yet it has the potential to reach $800 billion by 2030.”

“It could address a major problem in Africa by providing economic opportunities for the 200 million people between 14 and 24 years old that make Africa home of the youngest populations in the world,” the report adds.

The international accounting firm, Pricewaterhouse Coppers (PwC), has also said Africa “represents the ‘last frontier’ in global food and agricultural markets. The continent houses almost 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated land and an abundance of natural resources.” It however said that due to the large percentage of uncultivated, fertile land and the presence of water, sub-Saharan Africa is specifically attractive.

In addition, the lack of finance to invest in the sector has also been a problem. It is therefore no wonder that Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, is turning to China to develop its commercial agriculture. The country’s permanent secretary in the ministry of agriculture, Sonny Echono, said the Chinese agricultural development model suited Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), adding that Nigeria was working to improve its milling capacity in rice and cassava.

It is against this background that Indian investors would need to turn their attention to an area that promises high returns. Accounting firm KPMG has said the Indian government was determined to achieve a target of $70 billion in trade with Africa last year.

One way by which this can be achieved is through India’s investments in agriculture and, perhaps, telecommunications that may have more of a direct economic impact on the lives of ordinary Africans, 70 per cent of whom are engaged in some form of agriculture, and at least 30 percent of whom have access to a mobile phone.

“Unfortunately most governments on the continent are under severe fiscal pressure, with inefficient revenue collection practices, large public wage bills and severe infrastructure deficiencies. As such, the necessary funds needed to kick-start the agricultural sector may not always be available on time,” KPMG added.

Thus, as PwC suggested, to take Africa’s agriculture to the next level, there was the need for “public-private partnerships throughout the value chain as a whole,” adding that the role of governments in supporting the private sector to grow their businesses should not be underestimated. They have pointed out that successful agricultural system requires reliable access to financing, as well as high-quality seeds, fertiliser and water.

(Francis Kokutse can be contacted at fkokutse@gmail.com <mailto:fkokutse@gmail.com>)