10 The Japan Times Tuesday, October 2, 2012 Special Economic Reports 第３種郵便物認可 World Eye Reports India 60th Anniversary of IndiaDiplomatic Relations between India and Japan in 2012 www.worldeyereports.com Six decades on, Japan sees India as a key partner in Asia India’s financial leader n 2012’s bearish global econ- the country to explore and turn to omy, it’s almost unusual to other means of business and rev- turns its focus to Asia Isee a country doing relatively enue generation.” well, with a bright outlook on the One key growth factor is a ithin the dynamic In- ing partner and we continue to be future. India’s continuing growth domestic market that is almost dian banking landscape, affected by events taking place at a time like this and huge market unimaginably huge and contin- WState Bank of India across the euro-zone. There is makes it stand out even more on ues to expand. In fact there are (SBI) has successfully balanced its a slowdown. India as a country the world stage. In a few decades projections that India’s current legacy with a continuing drive to needs a great deal of further in- it has gone from a lumbering, if population of 1.2 billion people innovate. Since its establishment vestment to continue moving in giant, economic backwater to to- will overtake world No. 1 China’s in 1806, SBI has grown side-by- the right direction.” within 20 years. India’s millions side with the country to become Shifting its focus from Europe, also provide a relatively low-cost India’s largest commercial bank in SBI’s intra-Asian trade is continu- yet talented and driven workforce. terms of profits, assets, branches ing to grow. The bank is commit- Half of the population is in the and employees. The bank current- ted to facilitating business devel- 20s, and the ranks of the middle ly has a 17 percent market share opments throughout the region. In class continue to swell. in India and is planning further addition to the bank’s subsidiary Indian companies such as the growth both in the domestic mar- in Indonesia, its Asian branches tire giant MRF have the home- ket and abroad. include offices in Hong Kong, town advantage of this market at Having joined SBI in 1974, He- Shanghai and Singapore. A new their doorstep — which provides mant Contractor, its managing di- office in Tianjin, China, will be a strong foundation for making SBI rector and group executive (for in- opening shortly. the leap abroad. “Even though we The focus on sustainable growth is changing India’s landscape: State Bank of India (SBI) has installed wind power generators with capacity for 15 MW in ternational banking), is still driven In Japan SBI has offices in To- WER three states for India’s energy needs, while the bank is also the world’s largest operator of solar-powered ATMs. now have a global footprint, our to build on the foundations of the kyo and Osaka, and has developed Akitaka Saiki, Japanese Ambassa- largest market is still India,” says dor to India all those tires that need replacing.” makes India ideal for investment.” progress in recent years in forging bank. a strong relationship with JBIC Koshy K. Varghese, executive vice However, to make this growth “Japanese investment into In- closer business ties. “We have be- “SBI has come a long way since (Japan Bank for International Co- day’s focus of economic expan- president of the company. sustainable in the long run, much dia will be continuous,” predicts gun strengthening our trade part- our early days,” he says. “We have operation). The Japanese are in- sion and smart choice for direct “India alone produces about more development and invest- Naoyoshi Noguchi, director gener- nerships through specific policies created a highly respected institu- vesting heavily in India, and as foreign investment. 400,000 vehicles a month and ment is needed. In this respect, on al of JETRO New Delhi. “It is not such as the comprehensive eco- tion both in India and throughout the dominant bank in the country, Of course, India has not been is home to 40 million,” explains the historic 60th anniversary of only a production base country but nomic partnership agreement or the international banking world. SBI is usually the first port-of-call spared the effects of the global MRF’s chairman and managing di- diplomatic relations between the also a gateway to the West.” CEPA, which has notably increased The liberalization of the Indian for Japanese investors undertaking economic crisis. Last year’s dou- rector K. M. Mammen. “Think of two countries, Japan is perceived Both countries have made great trade by 10 percent since it came economy in 1991 brought with it a large projects in the country. ble-digit growth has dropped to a as a reliably strong partner and into force last year,” Saiki adds. new competitive While the pace more modest (if still remarkable in supporter for India’s initiatives to “Meanwhile, the Japan-India environment and of development these times) level of about 6 per- reach developed country status. Social Security Agreement has we recognized needs to be in- cent this year. Business remains “There has been a long history helped promote the movement of JETRO New Delhi there was a need creased in India, generally positive about the situ- of friendly ties between India and talent between our economies by Naoyoshi Noguchi, Director Gen- for change. there are signs ation. Japan, but it is only relatively easing the burden of labor insur- eral, JETRO New Delhi “While we that the country “There is a growth trend in In- recently I think that Japanese in- ance for both Indian and Japa- had significant is on the right dia regardless of world condi- vestors have finally come to re- nese citizens working in either Freight Corridor), built with Japa- legacy systems in track in terms tions,” explains the interim CEO alize that India has even greater country,” he explains further. “We nese assistance to connect Kolka- place, we gradu- of focusing on of BSE (formerly the Bombay potential for the future,” says the are also looking to eliminate tar- ta, Delhi and Mumbai in a bid to ally shifted to a its future and Stock Exchange), Ashishkumar Japanese ambassador to India, iffs between our two countries by improve India’s infrastructure — fully automated attracting in- Chauhan. “We are growing be- Akitaka Saiki. “Countries like In- up to 94 percent in the next 10 so crucial to the entry of further accounting and vestment. “The BCCI cause ours is a consumption- dia with young populations have JETRO Mumbai years.” direct investment from Japan and banking system advantages of in- driven economy. India is being Atindra Sen, Director General, Bombay a positive outlook because their Naoyuki Maekawa, Senior Coordi- Noguchi points to the devel- elsewhere. spanning our en- WER vesting in India Hemant Contractor, Managing challenged, and this is pushing Chamber of Commerce and Industry nator for South Asia, JETRO markets will only expand, so this opment of the DFC (Dedicated CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 tire network,” Director and Group Executive for are numerous,” Contractor con- International Banking, SBI says Contrac- tinues. “We also tor. “We have invest in our people. Today we a growing consumer market and Engineering have four large specialized apex a skilled workforce that speaks training institutes and more than 50 English. We are a democracy with learning centers across the country. systems and institutions in place creativity from India Training, retraining and empower- similar to those in the U.K. and ing our people have been key to the U.S.” ensuring we retain our leading po- As SBI continues to facilitate — for the world sition as we look to the future.” project financing initiatives and Today, SBI’s 14,400 branch- provide clients with the ongoing es are all connected on a real- support required to successfully do ata Elxsi is a leading time network system linking its business in India, Contractor con- design and technology 215,000 staff with domestic and tinues to focus on the future. Tservices company and international clients. “We intend to work closely with part of the $100 billion Tata Current unease in international our existing and potential part- group. financial markets is also evident ners and offer our guidance and It is unique in focusing on in India’s domestic banking and expertise,” he concludes. “We product design and system financial services sectors. “India have developed an active project development — including has not been immune to the recent financing role, and remain com- hardware, software, user in- global economic turbulence,” ex- mitted to the country’s continuing terface and mechanical de- plains Contractor. “We saw a year development. As India welcomes sign. of decline in 2009. Indian banks more foreign investors, SBI will Tata Elxsi has been associ- were affected, but the Indian econ- continue to work closely with cli- ated with Japan right from its omy bounced back again in 2010.” ents who recognize the advantages start in 1989, when it began “Since then we have seen the of partnering with us and who see working for leading Japanese challenges being faced by coun- the potential offered by the vigor- companies in embedded software development: a new area for off-shor- tries in Europe,” he says. “As a ous Indian economy.” ◆ ing and India at that time. bloc, Europe is our largest trad- www.sbi.co.in It set up its first office in Japan in 1997 with a team of Japanese and Indian engineers.