Indian exports to Germany despite diversification in the last few years are rather "lopsided" with textiles and leather goods constituting the bulk of this trade chairman of the OAV German-Asia Business Association Country Committee on India Peter Clasen said.

Speaking at a one-day business symposium on India held in the Port city of Hamburg recently by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and DG Bank, Clasen said the east Asian financial crisis will certainly make German and other European companies appreciate India more as an attractive trading partner and a long-term investment destination.

India's ambassador to Germany Ronen Sen said the "greater flexibility" for foreign participation in the non-tender route in the ports sector would be of particular interest to Germaninvestors.

Sen said there was vast untapped potential to increase volume of bilateral trade and to diversify the range of products. He also called for a substantial increase in the net flow of German investments to India.Annual bilateral trade for the past couple of years has been around Rs 200 billion.

German exports to India and imports from India in the first six month of this year was around the same level of Rs 50 billion each.

Clasen said though the German industry appreciated India's ongoing economic liberalisation process, there was need for "still bolder measures particularly in the insurance and finance sector.

"India offers as of today immense opportunities for trading and for foreign direct investment and joint ventures as never before," Clasen said while regretting that red-tapism was "still widespread" in India.

According to OAV officials, a cross section of the German industry including those from the mittlestand companies, which are the backbone of the company, attended the meetingand the attendance was more than double compared to last years meeting on business opportunities in India.

Clasen said there was vast scope for investment in infrastructure sector especially in communications, power, ports and roads and referred to the "poor infrastructure" of Indian ports severely hindering Indian exports.He regretted the poor service offered by the shipping corporation of India (SCI), which was the only major carrier operating liner services to Europe from India.

According to an OAV report, India largely unaffected from the Asian crisis, looks one of the "least problematic and most promising" economies in the region despite some political uncertainties.

The efforts of the Indian private sector in improving the efficiency and productivity of its vast and varied resources created excellent opportunities for intensified Indo-German Economic Cooperation, the report said.

There are already encouraging signs that a "substantial recovery" of the Indian industry may be starting though theGerman industry does not expect "full evidence" before April to June next year, it said.

"But while the rest of Asia contracts or excludes itself from global benchmarks, India's standing as trading partner and investment location for German companies undoubtedly rises," it noted.

Sen told the business symposium that only 25 per cent foreign direct investment proposals of 53 billion dollars approved since 1991 were actually translated into actual investment flows.

He said India's marco-economic stability and continuity of policies, based on political consensus, created an environment or profitable investments and trading opportunities for foreign companies.