'Japanese companies hope for policy stability in India'

Abrupt policy changes pose difficulties in doing business, and Japanese firms are looking for policy stability in India, Takuro Horikoshi, the chairman and managing director of Sumitomo Corp. India Pvt. Ltd, said, in the backdrop of India restricting laptop and tablets recently.

- Shashank Mattoo

In an interview, Horikoshi, who also heads the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India (JCCII), said the 2019 crisis in the Indian automotive industry and the ensuing covid pandemic resulted in the number of Japanese firms in the country staying flat. He said JCCII is witnessing a surge of interest from Japanese firms in various fields, including packaged consumer goods and semiconductors. Horikoshi said he was confident that the number of Japanese firms in India will increase after years of stagnation, and JCCII will set up two new committees to advocate the interests of firms in packaged consumer goods and semiconductor sectors. Edited excerpts:

India has been trying to encourage domestic manufacturing. As part of that strategy, we have been lowering the import customs duty on raw materials while increasing the customs duty on finished products, whether it is mobile phones or laptops. There is criticism that India is becoming more protectionist, with tariffs going up. Your views?

Of course, this was a sudden policy change, like you mentioned about computers. So, I understand there are many intentions from the Indian government’s side. But such a sudden change is one of the difficulties we face. So, more stability is required. Otherwise, we face many difficulties in continuing business and investment in India.