AHMEDABAD: In the last two-three months, senior executives of Chinese company Nine Dragons Worldwide Ltd have made a few visits to Gujarat for exploring the possibility of setting up their first factory in India.

The company, which aims to invest USD 600-650 million has firmed up plans to set up a paper manufacturing factory in India, said a senior government official. The development comes at a time when tensions of trade wars are rising between China and US.

“Gujarat is high on the mind of Chinese investors as the state has very good infrastructure and pro-industry policies. The ongoing signs of US-China trade wars has further boosted the Chinese enterprises to set up their shops in the state,” said Varoon Narang, vice general manager of Nine Dragons.

The company is also exploring other states besides Gujarat for their factory project, he added.

While China’s largest automaker SAIC Motors is all set to produce its battery-operated SUV from Halol later this year, its second-largest vehicle manufacturing company Great Wall Motors is also scouting for a place near Sanand for its India foray. Jagat Shah, secretary-general, China-India Trade and Investment Centre, said, “For the past 6-8 months, a slew of Chinese companies have been bullish for investing in Gujarat. After the US started imposing tariffs on Chinese imports into the US, it is hurting businesses. As a result, Chinese companies are looking to invest in India and focus on exports from here.”

Shah said that companies are bullish for investments in sectors such as auto-component manufacturing, automobiles, textile, pharmaceuticals and food processing. Recent developments, including the announcement of India-US trade deal in near future and India’s corporate tax cut decision, are expected to further increase Chinese investments in India.

Ahmedabad-based startup Gridbots Technologies is set to enter into agreements with two Chinese companies for technology commercialization in China, said Pulkit Gaur, founder of Gridbots.

“The government of China is encouraging companies to go and invest in India. The Chinese invest about 18% of its GDP on infrastructure development so there is a huge opportunity for them in states like Gujarat. Investments of about USD 600-700 million have been lined up by us for water, metro and other infrastructure projects in India,” said D J Pandian, vice-president and chief investment officer of Beijing headquartered Pandian Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

He said the upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to India this month will boost investment from Chinese companies in India.

