Business Advisory Forum and Doing Business in India Guide

Date : 26 July 2023

Location : New Delhi

We had a fantastic launch of our Business Advisory Forum and Doing Business in India Guide at the Australian High Commission, New Delhi on 26 Jul 2023.

Ms. Petula Thomas CEO, IACC, announced the launch of the Chamber’s Business Advisory leadership forum. The two Co-Chairs are Geoff Alcock MD, MSS Security and Mr. Pratik Jain, Partner and Regional Markets Leader (North), PwC India.

Ms. Sarah Storey Chargé d’affaires, Australian High Commission, delivered the Opening remarks highlighting the growing India-Australia bilateral relationship. Ms Storey also acknowledged the Chamber’s leadership in expanding across India and the value that the Chamber adds by supporting businesses and providing a platform for companies in both countries to engage.

Ambassador Anil Wadhwa announced the launch of the Doing Business in India guide and Mr. Ajay Sethi Managing Partner ASA presented the first copy of the Doing Business in India Guide to Ms. Sarah Storey. The DBI Guide provides an overview of the Business environment, economic opportunities and regulatory environment governing business operations.

The panel discussion ‘Doing Business in India: Practical insights and the road ahead’ with three eminent speakers was brilliantly moderated by Ms. Thomas and also included audience Q & A.

Ms Sarah Storey highlighted that three main reasons for Australian companies succeeding in the Indian market were Trust, Patience & People-to-people/strong B2B links. She also spoke about the benefits of 🇮🇳-🇦🇺 ECTA and some of the new opportunities/sectors that the CECA (likely to be concluded by Dec' 23) could include.

Ambassador Anil Wadhwa said that the opportunities for Australian investment in India are significant and foreign investment will continue to open an active diversification strategy for investors especially in water technologies, warehouses and Sports Tech. India will likely become one of Australia’s top export markets, and Australian investments in India is also likely see a rise soon.

Mr. Ajay Sethi highlighted that the DBI guide can be a useful reference tool for Australian companies looking to set up in India. Some of the risks that businesses should try and navigate are related to India Market entry strategy, supply chain requirements, regulatory laws especially with financial impact, having the right structure and lastly, he emphasized that agreements should be contractual (and not just rely on goodwill and verbal promise).

We also acknowledged some of our Lifetime/Corporate patron members Mr. Anish Kohli, Telstra, Mr. Rahul Agnihotri, Tata BlueScope Steel, Mr. Sandeep Dutta, Fractal Venkat Sastry, SRM University Mr. M K Vajpayee J K Cements and Sponsors Telstra Tata BlueScope Steel Sheela Foam Ltd and ASA for their participation.