Trade between India, France continues to expand: report

The trade between France and India continues to expand, with French companies having more than 550 Indian subsidiaries and employing approximately 360,000 people currently, according to a new report released by France.

The French embassy in a statement here said a total of 1,323 investment decisions were taken in 2018 in France, at an average of 25 decisions per week, according to the "2018 Annual Report: Foreign investment in France", which was released earlier this month at the French Ministry for Economy and Finance.

The trade between France and India continues to expand, with French companies having more than 550 Indian subsidiaries and currently employing approximately 360,000 people, the report said.

It was unveiled by Bruno Le Maire, Minister for Economy and Finance, Christophe Lecourtier, CEO of Business France, and Pascal Cagni, Chairman of Business France and Ambassador for International Investment.

"With 17 investment decisions, recorded in 2018, and more than 150 Indian companies already in France, employing more than 7,000 people, Indian investments reflect the improvement in France's image as a business hub," Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler said in a statement.

In 2018, Indian projects often involved decision-making centres (59 per cent of projects; 53 per cent of jobs) and production or manufacturing operations (18 per cent of projects; 34 per cent of jobs). Investments were mainly made in the software and IT services sector (24 per cent of projects; 30 per cent of jobs), and the machinery and mechanical equipment sector (12 per cent of projects; 21 per cent of jobs), the statement said.

Sophie Clavelier, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for India, VP of Business France for South Asia, said, "The diversity of France's regions and cities continues to drive their attractiveness among Indian investors".