Swiss firms India-bound: Helene Budliger
NEW DELHI: A number of companies from Switzerland including chocolate maker Barry Callebaut Group, and technology group Bühler are interested in investing in India, Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs Helene Budliger has said.
Budliger said HESS Green Mobility intends to manufacture around 3,000 electric buses in India by 2025, equating to an investment of $110 million over the next six to eight years.
Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut Group is set to make its third manufacturing facility in India operational by 2024, bringing its investment in India over the past five years to more than $50 million, she said.
Similarly, the Swiss technology group Bühler intends to invest an additional $23 million over the next two to three years to mark the 30th anniversary of Bühler India.
“We are aware of numerous Swiss companies interested in investing in India. There are too many to list all of them here, but we are happy to share some examples … There are many small Swiss companies that are interested in entering the market,” she added.
India and the four-nation European bloc EFTA on March 10 signed a trade pact – Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) – under which, New Delhi received an investment commitment of $100 billion in 15 years from the grouping, while allowing several products such as Swiss watches, chocolates and cut and polished diamonds at lower or zero duties.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs said from the Switzerland perspective, almost all sectors of Swiss-Indian economic relations have a lot of potential, given the widespread untapped opportunities.
“Among the sectors with particularly high potential are transportation/railways, precision industries (such as in medtech) and automation. Swiss companies will bring quality products and services to India, which meet the growing requirements of an economy that is rapidly upgrading itself,” she added.
As EFTA economies are highly specialised in niche areas, such as advanced technologies, she said, Norway and Iceland’s expertise in renewable technologies can support India’s transition to net-zero.