Ireland seeks Indian investments in areas like IT, pharma

Wooing Indian investments in sectors like IT and pharma, Ireland today said huge potential exists in the European country for domestic firms.
IDA (Industrial Development Agency) Ireland CEO Martin D Shanahan said that Indian companies based in the UK are welcome to shift operations in Ireland as it will continue to remain part of the European Union even after Brexit.
IDA is a governmental agency in Ireland. It facilitates investments into that country.
After Britain's exit from the European Union, Ireland will be the ideal place to set up base for Indian firms having offices in the UK as it has same language and laws, he said, adding Ireland would be the right entry gate to explore European markets.

"It will be easy for Indian companies to shift their base in Ireland from the UK," Shanahan told PTI.
Wooing Indian investments, he said, "We are number one in ease of doing business, we have flexible labour laws, good return on investments, safe and secure investments. It takes only 48 hours to set up a company in Ireland," he said.

The main sectors that holds opportunities for Indian firms include financial services, technology, consumer and content Business, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, medical tech and engineering.
The CEO also met officials of companies like Infosys, HCL and TechMahindra in Mumbai to seek investments.

"Indian companies can also service the EU markets from Ireland," he added.
When asked about visa regime there, he assured smooth facilitation and movement of people, who wants to work in Ireland.
"We would facilitate work permits and visas," he said.
Talking about Ireland's taxation system, he said it has 12.5 per cent corporate tax and the regime is "consistent, competitive and transparent".
"We can provide subsidy support to companies but it depends on size of investment and business model. We can also provide training support, subsidy for R&D and innovation," he said.
However, he added that there are certain issues related with air connectivity between India and Ireland.

"There are no direct flights. We are hopeful that we would have direct connectivity," Shanahan said.