Chennai, Feb 6: Lots of water will flow into India if only the gates are opened properly. That is how German ambassador to India Heinrich-Dietrich Dieckmann described the future of German investment flows into India.He said this when asked whether German investment flows would decline in the light of protection to Indian industry for 7 to 10 years as envisaged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if it came to power at the centre. His reply came during a meet-the-press programme during his first ever visit to Chennai after taking over as the German ambassador to India. Dieckmann said major German players were carefully watching the Indian economic scene. "There are lots of alternatives for them. India is not the only one and one has to be aware of this. But I believe in the positive trends in the Indian economy," he noted.
Dieckmann said as of now German companies were making big investments into India and Germany was the second largest investor and trade partner in India.
The ambassador disclosed thatGerman pharmaceutical company Madaus had made Rs 80 crore investments in Goa to set up a most modern oncological (cancer) treatment facility. Other new areas which German companies were looking at with positive approach for investments include auto components (more than 40 German companies participated in the Auto Fair held in New Delhi recently), software engineering, food processing and chemicals sector.
German investments between 1991 and 1993 doubled, trebled in 1994 and during 1995-96 doubled again but was somewhat lower in 1996-97. German private investors were carefully watching Indian policies and the economic reforms introduced in the country. ``We are competing with India for the same capital from countries like Japan. Germany needs reforms like India for globalisation," he observed. According to him, German overseas development assistance (ODA) to India was 17 billion mark (10 billion) given "not in charity" but in self interest. "The more economically developed a country, the more importantit is for trade, as trade is better than aid. So the ODA is for improving Indo-German trade, technological and economic cooperation."
In Chennai, Dieckmann said India and Germany were cooperating on software development. for vocational training, besides furthering cooperation at the Indian Institue of Technology here.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
