Australia looks to strengthen trade ties with western India

NOT just Japan, now Gujarat might also host Australia in near future. Even as there are speculations of Japanese companies setting up shop in Gujarat, Nano's presence in the state has made the Australians contemplate business modules in Gujarat.
    ET has learnt that Australia is exploring business opportunity in various sectors such as food and beverage, infrastructure, mining and even automobile sector in Gujarat. Australian trade commissioner (western India) Peter Forby said: "We are interacting with the local industry to see what kind of trade can be promoted between Australia and Western India. Coincidentally, at the same time, Tatas have announced their plant location to be Sanand in Gujarat. So, we are trying to find how Australia can participate in the project." Forby was here to meet local industrialists to take stock of the situation to check out possibilities for bilateral trade.
    "Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Mitsubishi, Toyata and General Motors, along with around 200 ancillary units are functional in Australia. The ancillary units specialise in manufacturing plastic components, tool designing and auto components. We might see some of them participating in Tata's project too, if we get an opportunity as we are more focused on developing trade relations for small and mediumscale industries," business development manager of the Australian Trade Commission, Vaibhav Kale, said.
    Meanwhile, after giving dreams to the auto component manufacturers, Nano is all set to give new life to the proposed engineering special economic zone (SEZ) here that has been lying in the cold storage since Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2005. The proposed Rajkot Engineering Association (REA) Special Economic Zone at Khirsara (Rajkota) that is promoted by REA envisaged more than 200 companies, comprising more than 40% auto component manufacturers, while rest were from the general engineering sector, for setting up their units.
    The SEZ, which was promoted as an automobile park initially was changed to a general engineering hub. It also expected to generate 9,000-10,000 employment. But, after the memorandum of understanding was signed, things have moved rather slowly for the SEZ, with the state claiming that the land was agricultural. However, in a meeting on Monday between Rajkot collector and industry players, it was indicated that the proposed SEZ would be converted to Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) to ensure that the interested industries can set up their facilities without any delay.
    "Until now, the 116-hectare land has not been allotted and it takes long to get clearance from the Central government for the SEZ, so the project can be changed into a GIDC to ensure that the things start rolling as soon as possible. The indication has come in view with the requirements for Tata as units in GIDC will be able to cater to the OEM while SEZ will be only for exports," a vendor who attended the meeting on Monday said.
    Rajkot collector HS Patel told ET that the meeting was just a follow-up for the proposed SEZ and has nothing to do with the Tata project. But in future, it might be useful for developing it into an auto hub. Currently, the land matter is lying with RUDA and the zone has to be changed from agricultural to industrial.
Rallis opens Gujarat plant to build
    polymer for aerospace industry
ANKLESHWAR: Gujarat will now house the world's only facility to produce poly ether ketone ketone (PEKK), a high-end application polymer used in the aerospace industry, reports Yashpal Parmar.
    Rallis India has set up the facility in Ankleshwar to produce advanced composites for US-based Cytec Engineered Material, which will move further into new-age aircraft making.
    Rallis, the Rs 760-crore agrochemical leader, has invested about Rs 10 crore in the 1,00,00 kg PEKK production facility, and aims to achieve exports worth Rs 400 crore over five years.
    Rallis chairman R Gopalakrishnan inaugurated the plant at Ankleshwar on Monday. Talking to ET, Mr Gopalakrishnan said, "After posting a Rs 100-crore loss in FY 2002-03, Rallis is now back in the black. The company has increased profit and capacity to invest in new factories. The new facil-ity highlights the company's strong international alliances in contract manufacturing and its commitment to expand in new fields."

LEADING THE WAY: Ratan Tata with the Nano