INDIA

The Global Markets unit within the DOC’s International Trade Administration will hold a roundtable on 12 December and will accept input from interested parties by 4 January on government programmes to inform the catalysation of U.S. private sector participation in commercial opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region in energy, infrastructure, and information and communications technology. More

While India’s fast-changing retail landscape appears dynamic, in particular the sharp discounts offered by top e-tailers, the bulk of sales are still transacted in bricks-and-mortar stores, including numerous neighbourhood, or ‘kirana’, stores. Hong Kong companies considering the Indian retail market should take note of new trends of physical store retailers upping online investment, while pursuing an online-offline strategy to maximise sales in the face of the e-tailer challenge. More

India is considered a difficult market despite the improving ease of doing business there. However, there are plenty of business opportunities and Hong Kong companies should pay close attention to the country’s e-commerce boom and the emergence of online marketplaces. India overtook the US in 2017 to become the world’s second biggest smartphone user market, although actual per capita online sales were still less than 7% of China’s. More

India was Hong Kong’s third largest export market in 2017 and its fourth largest market for electronics and electrical parts. But with India determined to strengthen its electronic clusters and boost domestic production via its Phased Manufacturing Programme, hoping to bring down electronic imports to a net level of zero by 2020, this will have an impact on Hong Kong suppliers of affected items. More