The Indian industrial group Ashok Leyland, which bought the Czech car maker Avia in 2006, is considering further investments in the Czech Republic, company CEO R. Seshasayee said at the Czech-Indian business forum in Prague Wednesday.
Seshasayee said Ashok Leyland is considering expansion in the automotive industry but also in the field of electrical engineering and in the defence industry. The investment in Avia is part of Ashok Leyland's intention to get to the Russian and Ukrainian market.
Indian investments in the Czech Republic are very rare at present. CzechInvest has so far mediated only four projects by Indian investors totalling Kc1.35bn. Investments are on the agenda of the two-day Czech-Indian business forum launched in Prague today as a working visit by Indian Minister Kamal Nath.
"Indian investments are not very usual in this country at present, but their number and share is growing rapidly. CzechInvest has, for example, mediated a software centre of the company Infosys, which plans to employ around one thousand programmers in Brno," Alexandra Rudysarova of CzechInvest said.
Companies of Indian origin active in the Czech Republic include ArcelorMittal, Vectra, Tata Tea, Alok Industries, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Ashok Leyland.
According to Industry and Trade Association vice-president Jaroslav Hanak, the main spheres of Czech-Indian cooperation are engineering, the aircraft industry, telecommunications and IT.
Czech-Indian trade has been growing in the recent years, with the Czech Republic recording a surplus. Last year, Czech companies exported goods worth $552m (Kc9.653bn) to India, while imports from India amounted to $403m (Kc7.048bn).
This year, bilateral trade turnover will for the first time exceed $1bn, Nath said, adding that in three years the sum might even triple.
