Opportunities

Technology transfer and licensing are closely related but are subtly different. Licensing allows the licensee to make use of the licensor’s intellectual property. Often the licensee wants to license the use of a specific technology though they might also be able to license the rights to use a brand name or a trademark or even a piece of music.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an activity where an investor sets up or invests in an enterprise in a foreign country with the intention of acquiring a lasting interest and at least a degree of management control.

Thailand is the second largest economy in ASEAN and has a long history of cultural and trading interaction with India, currently assisted by India’s ‘Act East’ policy and Thailand’s ‘Act West’ policy. Thailand and India are supporting the development of a new maritime route in the Andaman Sea which will almost halve the travel time and will contribute to the Thai government’s objective to boost trade with India.

In the last decade, Vietnam’s economy recorded a high and relatively stable growth rate of about seven per cent per annum. The country’s rapid economic growth can be observed in the development of several key sectors such as agricultural production (coffee, rubber, pepper, cashew, cassava and rice), light manufacturing (apparel, footwear and electronics) and tourism.

Over the past two decades, Cambodia has achieved significant growth of over seven per cent annually driven primarily by several key sectors of the economy. Small and growing businesses may now be at a stage where they are considering expansion through international trade and investment and India provides as attractive market as one of the fastest growing economies with geographical proximity to Cambodia.

Trade and investment between India and the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries of Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam is relatively low in comparison to India’s trade with the rest of the world. GMS countries offer many opportunities for Indian businesses given their geographic and cultural proximity and their involvement in similar global value chains such as automotive, garments and pharmaceuticals.