Welcome to the New India Briefing Online Portal

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Welcome to the new India Briefing online portal. This independent website is run by Asia Briefing Ltd., with content produced in association with the tax and legal professionals at the foreign-direct investment consulting practice, Dezan Shira & Associates. It is designed to assist foreign investors in the country understand the complex rules and regulations concerning corporate establishment, due diligence, tax and financial planning and the regulatory environment, as well as administrative issues such as tax filing, accounting, payroll and audit.

The emergence of India as one of the world’s fastest growing economies is having a significant impact upon shaping the future of foreign investment into Asia. While in mainstream media the country is often overlooked in favor of China business news, India is now emerging as a serious competitor to China, and is in fact following roughly the same growth trajectory that China embarked on twenty years ago. Today, it is India, not China, which is the developing market of choice for many investors – India ranked third over the past ten years in terms of attracting M&A FDI from the UK – only the United States and Canada rated higher.

Like China before it, India is now in possession of the “labor force dividend” – an economic theory developed by Nobel-Prize winning economist Arthur Lewis that states that a young and available workforce creates wealth. China’s workforce 20 years ago had an average age of 23, today it is 37 and China labor costs are increasing. India’s workforce today also has a mean average of 23 years. This means that global manufacturers are now increasingly looking to India to take up the opportunity of becoming the world’s manufacturing hub. Illustrating this, Ford Automotive relocated their entire non-U.S. manufacturing plants to Gujarat in India in mid-2013. Others are following.

In addition to the huge and inexpensive labor force, India also has a significant consumer class. Some 250 million Indians are now ranked as being middle class and this too is having a significant impact on foreign investment. Companies such as Hermes, Ferrari and Gucci have all opened showrooms. Meanwhile, foreign brands such as McDonald’s, KFC, and many other retailers have entered the Indian market and are prospering.

India therefore is of immense significance for global trade. Within the Asian region it has additional implications for trade patterns with the United States, Europe, Middle East, Australasia and the rest of Asia, in addition to Africa, Latin America and the Pacific Rim countries. The fact that India has a Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN bloc, reducing tariffs to zero on thousands of products, should also not go unnoticed.

Some of the features that make India Briefing a valuable resource for investors and business executives include:

  • Business, investment, legal and tax news dedicated to India
  • Regional intelligence section containing facts & figures, investment and infrastructure information, local insight and additional resources for Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Maharashtra
  • Multimedia series of interviews, podcasts and webinars containing practical business knowledge on India from the professional staff at Dezan Shira & Associates
  • Free access to our quarterly India Briefing Magazine in which we examine the central legal and tax issues affecting the foreign investor in India
  • Our complete collection of business publications for doing business in India, China, Vietnam, Singapore and other key nations in ASEAN inside the Asia Briefing Bookstore
  • Professional expertise from Dezan Shira & Associates’ professional staff in India, who frequently answer reader’s questions in the comments section of our articles

India Briefing is one of the most concise and definitive resources for foreign direct investment in India today. To subscribe, and make sure you receive our complimentary weekly round-up as well as offers on our India Briefing magazines and guides, please click here.

We trust you find this extensive resource of value and assistance to your business.

Dezan Shira & Associates is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia. Since its establishment in 1992, the firm has grown into one of Asia’s most versatile full-service consultancies with operational offices across China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Vietnam as well as liaison offices in Italy and the United States.

For further details about investment restrictions or to contact the firm, please email india@dezshira.com, visit www.dezshira.com, or download the company brochure.

You can stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends across India by subscribing to Asia Briefing’s complimentary update service featuring news, commentary, guides, and multimedia resources.

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