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Big US business fails to make appearance

Neena Haridas in New Delhi

There are a few sighs of disappointment in the corridors of India Inc because US President Bill Clinton's entourage does not include as many CEOs as was earlier expected.

Indian business houses here were expecting some big names, such as Jack Welch of General Electric, Kenneth Lay of Enron etc. Well, it wasn't to be.

Says Dewang Mehta, president, National Association of Software and Service Companies, "A lot of people were expected to come along with the president, but not many have made it. In fact, The Indus Entrepreneurs, an association of successful Indian businessmen in the US, was supposed to hold a presentation in Hyderabad during the president's visit to the city.

However that did not materialse, and hence there were a great many drop-outs. But really, I don't think it is a matter of how many people come along with the President, the point is what kind of impact it will have in the coming days on Indo-US business. And I think the visit is going to improve business between the two countries because there are a lot of business houses in the US waiting for a gesture like this to give them confidence."

CEOs or no CEOs, the apex industry chambers in the country have drafted out detailed plans for seminars, round table conferences, presentations for the president and his men, especially Commerce Secretary William Daley.

According to Tarun Das, director-general of the Confederation of Indian Industry, "The objective of these interactions is to give a major push to Indo-US trade relations which has been rather cold after the economic sanctions.

Now the warming up should begin and we expect a lot of collaborations to happen in the private sector."

CII is organising a conference on 'Indo-US Trade and Investment - An Agenda for Action' on March 23 in New Delhi to be addressed by Daley. The conference will be attended by senior US businessmen who are part of Clinton's delegation besides a separate group led by Secretary, US department of commerce. External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh is scheduled to address the luncheon meeting; commerce and industry minister Murasoli Maran will be the guest of honour at the CII conference.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry has scheduled eight round table meetings in New Delhi on March 23 which will cover major areas, including oil and gas, intellectual property rights, information technology and communications, chemicals, broadcasting & entertainment, trade in services, and trade and investment. About 20 representatives are likely to take part in the discussions from each side. In a few cases, like when areas like infotech are covered, the number of participants will be larger.

According to Dewang Mehta, NASSCOM is also making a presentation during the FICCI meet. He said NASSCOM might even make a presentation to Clinton about the Indian IT sector before lunch hosted by the Indian prime minister at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. But the engagement hasn't been confirmed as yet.

On March 24, President Clinton is addressing another CII-sponsored business meeting in Hyderabad and another FICCI-sponsored meeting in Bombay. The Indian industry is very keen to hear what he says at these functions since it could have implications on tie-ups and future collaborations.

According to Tarun Das, the interaction between the industry representatives of the two countries on Thursday is also being watched carefully. While, the importance of information technology and telecommunications to the US investors is well-known, of special importance in the coming meet is the US delegation's special interest in agro-related activities and the health care industry.

A number of NRIs from these sectors have come as part of the Clinton delegation, including Pavan Nigam of Healtheon, Pritipal Singh of Biotech etc.

Says Das, "The importance of NRI attendance in the Clinton delegation is that they can understand and explain the Indian situation better. And they have good influence on the US industry. The Indians have made a name for themselves not only in information technology but also in other frontier technology areas like bio-engineering. The large presence of non-resident Indians in the US delegation is a manifestation of the importance the US administration gives the role of the Indian community in the US."

Adds Das, "During the interactive session, the issue of liberalisation of travel and job facilities for Indian experts will come up. The Indian industry will point out to the US businessmen that the US position on the issue of linking trade with labour standard will only hurt the Indian industry. In fact, many US business leaders are not in agreement with the official US position and this divergence may come up at the discussions here."

According to CII, Clinton is addressing the Indian industry in Hyderabad and Bombay instead of Delhi because he is very keen on the involvement of the states in pushing forward the reform process in India.

Adds Mehta, "The US investors want to disperse their investments but till now they have found their way only to Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore. Some states like Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Gujarat also attract investment but major portions of north, central and east India continue to have little or no US investment. I think his visit could change this attitude."

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