Keynote Address by Secretary (East) at FICCI - IIFA GLOBAL BUSINESS FORUM 2015 in Kuala Lumpur (June 5, 2015)
June 07, 2015
- It is indeed a great pleasure to address the Global Business Forum organized by FICCI and IIFA in Kuala Lumpur.
- I particularly thank Dr. A. Didar Singh, Secretary General of FICCI for his invitation. I would like to place on record my appreciation for the contribution of FICCI over the years to take forward India-Malaysia investment and trade relations. I also commend
IIFA for continuing their tradition of having a business meet along with the Film Awards.
- The Global Business Forum has come to Malaysia at a very opportune time for more reasons than one.
- At the outset, the time has come for greater fillip to be given to India-Malaysia trade and investment relations. We have more than US $ 6 billion worth of Malaysian investments in India and a further US $ 6 billion or more has been completed by Malaysian
companies by way of projects in India. Indian companies have also invested more than US $ 2 billion in Malaysia. Our bilateral trade now stands at US $ 13.82 billion for 2014. However, in the last couple of years, there has been a relative lull on both fronts
partly due to the international economic climate and partly due to our respective country’s pre-occupation with the political process. The time to shrug this lethargy has arrived and we need to take our economic and commercial relations to the next level.
- Secondly, vis-à-vis ASEAN, our Prime Minister has already mentioned that time for "Look East” is over and it is now time for "Act East”. ASEAN-India have a healthy trade partnership and thetwo-way trade is currently around US $ 80 billion. This is certainly
not adequate. We have set ourselves a target of US $ 100 billion by the end of this year and US $ 200 billion by 2022. These are eminently gettable. The India-ASEAN FTA in Goods, signed in 2009, and the India-ASEAN Agreement on Trade & Services and Investment,
signed last year, have set the platform for future growth. There is further scope for liberalization of tariff lines. The ongoing negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement should also bring the East Asia community together.
I am happy that the ASEAN-India Business Council, co-chaired by Dato’ Ramesh Koddamal, organized successfully the first ASEAN-India Business Forum last month in Kuala Lumpur. We need to build on this and make our business interactions more frequent and qualitative.
- By becoming an economic community by the end of the year, ASEAN will become even more attractive to investors, and Malaysia can be a very useful launching pad to penetrate ASEAN markets. While our trade and commercial linkages with all ASEAN countries have
been expanding, our engagement has been not confined only to that area. Our recent initiatives also include establishing a Satellite Tracking and Date Reception Station and Data Processing Facility for ASEAN Member States in Vietnam and Indonesia as well as
training to ASEAN personnel in Space Science and Technology. We have also established many IT Training Centres in CLMV countries and furthering our connectivity with ASEAN region. As you can see, we are progressing rapidly on many fronts and we are confident
that, with Malaysia as the Chair of the ASEAN for 2015, India’s engagement with ASEAN Member States will take a big leap forward. You would also be happy to know that in the recent Budget, the Government of India has announces a corpus of US $ 1 billion to
create a Project Development Agency under EXIM Bank of India to support projects and investments by the Indian private sector in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV countries).
- Our Prime Minister looks forward to his visit to Malaysia in November this year for the India-ASEAN and the East Asia Summits and to take our relations with ASEAN Member States, in particular with Malaysia, to higher trajectory. We have forged a Strategic
Partnership with Malaysia in 2010 and we need to break new ground, including in the socio-economic sectors.
- Further, another important factor why we are on the threshold of a big push forward is that India is on the cusp of developmental and economic changes that are unleashing unprecedented opportunities for other countries to engage with India. Reforms are
afoot to liberalize the Indian economy through faster decision-making and cut through red-tape, relaxation of labour laws, and liberalization of foreign investment norms in critical sectors of the economy like defence, railways, insurance and construction,
and take up GST next year. Further liberalization is already on the cards, including through initiatives such as Make in India, infrastructure corridors, promoting the manufacturing sector in 25 key sectors, Digital India Campaign to promote services and IT-based
industries, etc. It is self-evident that some of these areas are of considerable interest to Malaysia, and Malaysia. India offers three ‘Ds’ – Democracy, Demography and Demand. As Malaysia prospers and India grows, our multi-dimensional engagement is bound
to go to a higher trajectory.
- Since we are focusing today on entertainment, media and tourism, I would like to underline the fact that the entertainment, media and the tourism sector has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth in India. The Digital India Campaign is a major focus
to bring India into the digital age. India has one of the largest broadcasting industries in the world with more than 800 satellite television channels, nearly 250 FM channels, and more than 100 operational community radio networks. India has topped as the
world’s fastest growing smart-phone market in 2013, the overall entertainment and media industry grew by 19%. Internet access has been growing at an annual growth rate of 47%. India’s television industry, the largest segment of the entertainment and media
industry, continued its strong growth momentum representing an annual growth of 15%. Our film industry is gaining further momentum. The building blocks for future growth in digital India have been put in place, such as new spectrum for mobile, ongoing digitization
in cable, consolidation in exhibition and Phase-III auctions for radio. Several big ticket deals have either been concluded recently or are on the anvil.
- Tourism and hospitality in India is a potential game-changer. It is a sunrise industry, an employment generator, a significant source of foreign exchange, and an economic activity helping local communities. The Electronic Travel Authorization for tourist
visas launched by the Government of India in November 2014 for 43 countries has led to a phenomenal growth in tourist arrivals. The government hopes to extend this Electronic Travel Authorization scheme to nearly 150 countries. Several initiatives and big-ticket
tie-ups have been witnessed in the tourism sector. The medical tourism market in India is project to hit US $ 3.9 billion mark this year having grown at 27% annually over the last 3 years. Indian tourists are also visiting Malaysia in great numbers and their
arrivals have witnessed a jump of 20% last year.
- Before I conclude, I would like to mention that the Festival of India is being held in Malaysia for the first time and it covers all major cities in Malaysia. We have already held more than 35 events so far as a part of the 50 events we plan to organize
over 100 days all over Malaysia. I am delighted that this Festival has received tremendous response from Malaysians from all walks of life. Thousands have visited our events. One of the concluding events will be the celebration of the International Day of
Yoga on 21st June spread over several cities of Malaysia, including at the Cheras Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.
- I am confident that the Global Business Forum will provide an insight into the changes that are currently taking place in India on the investment and economic front as well as into the potential which India holds for greater engagement with ASEAN Member
States. It is important that we use this opportunity to collectively shape our post-2015 agenda for greater progress and prosperity of our peoples.