Indian industry captains invited to invest in France

French envoy to India, Francois Richier, has said that his country was a leading destination for foreign investments and a hub for doing business in Africa.

Richier, who was addressing an event organized by FICCI and Embassy of France on 'France: Your Preferred Destination', spoke about the opportunities in the tourism sector.

He said that France was a leading destination for tourists and offered immense business and investment opportunities. He invited captains of Indian industry to France as it offered access to markets of the Middle East and African countries.

Richier said that lack of Indian investment in France could be attributed to the communication gap.

Pointing out that the need was to highlight and depict the business and investment opportunities present in France to the Indian business community, he added that there were many Indian companies like Mahindra and Bharat Forge, which had presence in France and were doing well.

Dr. Jyotsna Suri, President, FICCI, said that Indo-French relationship was booming and there was a positive environment for business to thrive.

Dr. Suri said the French companies have invested in India heavily and added that there was an opportunity to explore more areas for investments.

She further said that FICCI would ensure that the communication gap which seems to hinder the business ties between India and France is bridged and the two nations are able to reach the next level of prosperity.

Dominique Frachon, Director, Business France Invest, said that France offered to its foreign investors legal and tax security, highly qualified and productive workforce, lower set up and operating costs than in the US, Germany and Japan and an innovative economy.

He added that to make the country more competitive, various reforms were under way such as in goods and services market and labour market.

The event also witnessed Samir Joshipura, Group CEO, Sintex Group and Sudhanshu Agrawal, General Manager, YES Bank, sharing their experiences on doing business in France.