Strong Indian participation at Choose France 2020
Strong Indian participation at Choose France 2020 event promoting economic attractiveness of France and its territories.
Château de Versailles, 20 January 2020
The third edition of the Choose France Summit was held in Versailles, France, on 20th January 2020. The annual international business summit aims to promote France’s economic appeal among its foreign investors by its know-how and innovative capacity as well as the economic reforms undertaken by the French government.
The President of the French Republic, H.E. Mr Emmanuel Macron, delivered the closing address at the event, which brought together more than 180 company heads from various countries, institutional participants, and 20 ministers.
Welcoming the distinguished Indian participation at the Summit, the Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain said, “I am delighted with the strong participation of Indian majors in Choose France 2020. More than 150 Indian companies are already present in France, a dynamic and innovative economic hub providing access to Europe’s 500 million consumers. The French government has greatly improved the ease of doing business through measures such as labour law reforms and corporate tax rate cuts.”
Notable company heads from India with footprints in France included Mr Anand Mahindra, Group Chairman - Mahindra & Mahindra; Mr C Vijayakumar, CEO – HCL; Mr Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Group Chairman - Motherson; Mr Jaidev Shroff, CEO – UPL; Mr Rajesh Kumar, Co-President, and Mr Rajiv Kumar, President - S Group; Mr Nitin Rakesh, CEO – Mphasis; and Mr Madhav Kejriwal, CEO - Electrosteel.
Two workshops - “Smart industries” and “sustainable value chains” – focusing on new technology and ecological transition were conducted for the participants. The event also saw over 400 B2B meetings for attracting more foreign investors to France.
Ranked among the top 20 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index compiled by the World Economic Forum, France is not only the most attractive European destination for industrial investors, but has now emerged as a popular investment hub for research and development. Initiatives announced at the Summit for further encouraging foreign investment in France included:
Availability of 12 turnkey sites of more than 50 hectares, already cleared for environmental and urbanisation administrative procedures, to expedite the establishment of industrial megaprojects.
Provision of French company laws in English translation to ease setting up corporate headquarters/ decision making centres in France.
Access to single-window portal for various categories of French companies (SAS, SASU, SARL).