US firms leaving China to prefer UP: Minister

The Uttar Pradesh government is confident that US companies keen on shifting base from China following the coronavirus pandemic would prefer the state as their business destination.

Minister for MSME Siddhartnath Singh, who held a webinar with US-based firms under the aegis of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum on Tuesday, said the interaction had been encouraging.

"The US has significant investment in China. Our Prime Minister and Chief Minister want to use the opportunity where industries are moving out of China and see how they can be brought to India, especially to UP. Video-conferencing was held with over 100 American companies...They've shown interest," Singh said on Wednesday.

The participating companies were told about the sector-specific policies, mainly in the defence, pharmaceuticals, food processing, electronics and education sectors, he said.

The representatives of the US companies said they would definitely prefer Uttar Pradesh as their next business destination as the state has a strong customer base and adequate skilled manpower, besides a conducive working atmosphere, the minister said.

Besides Singh, senior officials, including Principal Secretary MSME and Exports Navneet Sehgal, took part in the webinar.