On more than 445 hectares of land dedicated exclusively to Japanese corporations, titans such as Toyota Motor Corp., Daikin Industries Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd. have clustered together to protect themselves from the vagaries of India’s chaotic business landscape.
“In India, the size of investment matters,” said Takayoshi Tokimune, the managing director of the India subsidiary for Dainichiseika Color & Chemicals Manufacturing Co. “So we flocked together.”
Japanese foreign direct investment in India has risen since the global financial crisis, reaching nearly $3.5 billion in 2016. Japan is India’s 10th largest trading partner, with the bilateral relationship worth about $14.5 billion.
Japan has the technological know-how and a cadre of mighty corporations hungry for new markets, as economic growth and its population shrink at home. India has rapid growth, an expanding middle class eager for higher-quality products and more than 1 million youth joining the labor force every month.
“They have what we don’t, and we have what they don’t,” said Hiroshi Daikoku, a senior investment adviser to the Japanese External Trade Organization (better known as JETRO).
