New Delhi: Dutch companies in India, some of whom are present here for decades, are planning long-term and Holland is looking to diversify its supply chains, according to Netherlands Ambassador to India Marten van den Berg.
“Holland and Dutch companies are planning to diversify their supply chains and India presents an opportunity,” van den Berg told ET in an exclusive interaction amid the global debate on shifting out supply chains from China.
Some of Dutch companies including Phillips and Shell are present in India for decades and are planning a long term presence here, the envoy informed, adding, they have big plans for India. “The commitment is long term,” he emphasised.
Referring to the Netherlands the envoy noted that his country is coming out of lockdown and Indian companies which are present in large numbers in Holland would be critical to the growth story.
The Netherlands has identified nine sectors as key sectors for India — Agriculture, Water management, Ports and logistics, Inland waterways, Healthcare, Science & technology, Urban development, Shipping and Renewable energy. As the Dutch strengths in these sectors match India’s needs, these are priority sectors for bilateral cooperation.
There are over 200 Indian companies operating in the Netherlands. The Netherlands emerged as the 3rd largest investor in India in 2017-2018 with investments valued at $ 2.67 billion across a variety of sectors such as services sector, trading, automobile industry, fermentation industries, chemicals and water management. It was the second largest destination for foreign investment by Indian companies, after Singapore with investments worth Rs. 835 billion (approximately $ 12.8 billion) in 2017.
The top five sectors attracting FDI equity flows from the Netherlands were services sector, computer software and hardware, trading, automobile industry and fermentation industries. India and the Netherlands have a bilateral trade of $ 8.77 billion (April 2017-March 2018). Indian Exports to the Netherlands grew at 14.7 Per cent, while Indian Imports grew at 18.2 Per cent. During the current financial year, FY 2018-2019 (April to September), total twoway trade stood at $6.28 billion. The Netherlands was India’s 4th largest trading partner in the EU, after the UK, Germany and Belgium.
