An Indian business delegation led by Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) has expressed interest in investing in rubber-based products and beans, the group’s chairman has said.
Mr Rafeeque Ahmed made the comments during a speech at UMFCCI in Yangon.
Rather than importing raw beans to India from Myanmar, he said, there is a good opportunity to add value to bean products and then import to India.
India is the largest buyer of Myanmar’s beans and pulses.
Also at the UMFCCI meeting, Mr Habib Hussain, Director of AV Thomas Group, said Myanmar was an attractive investment prospect for Indians in the rubber and bean industry because of low wages and the benefits that the country enjoys under the US’s special tariff system, known as the Generalised System of Preferences.
The visit was the first ever to Myanmar by India’s SICCI delegation, which held private meetings with Myanmar business people after the UMFCCI speeches.
The UMFCCI and SICCI signed a memorandum of understanding with the goal of promoting investment and trade between the two countries and encouraging the meeting of the nations’ entrepreneurs.
Other sectors including pharmacy, used farm machinery, and information and technology have the potential to attract Indian investment to Myanmar, said Mr B. Shyam, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian embassy in Yangon.
Myanmar’s trade with India reached $2 billion in the 2015-2016 fiscal year and the countries are aiming to reach $10 billion in trade volumes in 2020.
Source: Myanmar Business Today
