Dancing with giants: India and China(2)
The deregulation and the resurgence of the Indian economy over the past five years led to ANZ re-entering the market by opening a branch in Mumbai, India's business and financial hub. The Mumbai branch will support trade and investment flows between India and the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand.
Initially, it will support corporate and institutional banking clients, providing a full range of Indian rupee and foreign currency banking services, including funding and hedging solutions, trade finance, cash and payments, foreign exchange and debt capital markets and access to the bank's expertise.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise chief executive Peter Chrisp endorses the view that NZ companies should already be doing their homework on India.
After the PM's recent Indian mission, Chrisp personally debriefed many of the participants.
Here are his seven rules for tackling the Indian market.
1) Friends first business later: If you lead by the chin it's probably not as worthwhile as building the relationship first.
2) Eyes wide open: India is not an easy market. A patient tenacious approach will get there in the long term.
3) Find the right partner: Many companies have to rethink their approaches. Better to get the right partner first up.
4) Leverage the upcoming FTA: It is the catalyst for everyone to get organised.
5) Create Coalitions of the Willing: New Zealand companies should collaborate not compete offshore.
6) Tell the New Zealand story: It's important to tell that and not simply the company story.
7) Stay close to Consumers: The market is evolving incredibily rapidly it's not a formulaic revolution and it's not the same as China.
Track record in India
Finzsoft's Andrew Holliday is not shy about pumping New Zealand's innovation track record in India.
"There are a number of proven and mature New Zealand ICT companies and solutions which are recognised globally as best of breed world-class solutions," he says.
The director of Finzsoft Solutions, one of Australasia's leading proprietary banking and finance software solution companies, says New Zealand is already providing many of the mission-critical solutions servicing global operations in the banking and finance, health, infrastructure and defence sectors.
"'We need to correct the misperception at home that we are 'breaking new ground' and taking New Zealand ICT to India and encouraging Indian ICT interests to New Zealand.
"Three of the four largest ICT companies in India are already operational directly in, and invest in, New Zealand, and all four are operational indirectly in New Zealand through Australian banking and insurance companies.
"Indian companies have recognised for some time that New Zealand holds best-of-breed world class solutions and have not waited for public or Government recognition or endorsement but have simply got on with it."
Finzsoft's "Sovereign solution" is an integrated, modular end-to-end retail, corporate and trading bank product.
During PM John Key's India mission, Holliday signed a deal with a representative of Finzsoft's India partner HCL Technologies to expand the companies' global partnership.
"We also need to correct the misperception at home that Indian companies already own competitive products to those we develop or that shared Indian companies will seek to compete directly with these products.
Holliday stresses that "by and large" the Indian ICT industry is a service-based economy.
"Indian companies recognise and seek out world-class solutions then seek to offer their service depth, capacity and global reach to partner up with NZ companies to penetrate both the Indian market and the world stage."
