India to set up SME business clusters in CLMV countries

India to promote investment in CLMV countries like Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam as well as offer cost rationalization will be setting up business clusters for small-medium scale industries. This is the new thrust of the government through EXIM Bank of India.

Under a cluster based approach, the country will be setting up clusters of small-medium enterprises not only in India but outside as well, said bank chairman and managing director Yaduvendra Mathur during the FICCI Banking Conclave here.

Mathur said that the south east Asian countries are the new places of opportunity for Indian businesses to set-up units to rationalise their manufacturing process.

Besides focusing on south east Asia, businesspeople need to focus on the European countries as well for asset acquisition. The success of the small-medium enterprises has put Bangladesh’s textile industry as a global leader in the world map.

Further, referring to the Make in India campaign which aims to boost the country’s manufacturing capabilities and draw in investment, he said that we need to do some part of production in India while some of the finishing in the CLMV countries. If we add 35 percent (of input for the product) in CLMV, then we are satisfying the WTO and trade agreements to the rules of origin.

In fact, China has been using this method to flood its goods in India. China has been using these countries to pump in products into India. This was not understood by us when signing the Free Trade Agreements.