PM's Japan visit may push bilateral trade to $50 bn by FY20: PHD Chamber

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan will induce Japanese companies to invest more in India, and bilateral trade is likely to swell to $50 billion by 2019-2020, PHD Chamber of Commerce today said.

The industry body has projected that the bilateral trade between India and Japan is poised to accelerate to $50 billion by 2019-2020, with Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe working to further cement ties.

"Bilateral trade between India and Japan is poised to accelerate to levels of $50 billion by 2019-2020, with Modi-Abe dynamics enhancing so much as to take the trade to the projected levels with both leaders concluding their latest parleys for further cementing their ties," the chamber said.

Bilateral trade between India and Japan stood at $16.31 billion by the end of fiscal 2013-14, the chamber said, quoting official estimates.

We feel that Modi's concerted and protracted successful talks with his counterpart in Japan have acquired a special fillip and momentum to further push the two-way trade in India and Japan's emerging trade and economic ties, it said.

"Currently, about 1,000 Japanese companies are operating in India in nearly 70 infrastructure projects, among which Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor is one such project in which Japan has so far invested $4.5 billion," PHD Chamber President Sharad Jaipuria said.

"We expect that in future Indo-Japan ties would further cement, motivating the latter companies' number going up from 1,000 to over 1,500 in next five years," he added.